


The Babysitter

by pasteldanhowells



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: AU, Angst, Babysitter AU, Bullying, Fluff, M/M, Teenagers, babysitter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-02
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-12 12:02:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7933918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pasteldanhowells/pseuds/pasteldanhowells
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan is a young teenager who gets into a lot of trouble, so his parents decide to get him a babysitter when they go away for the weekend. Dan isn’t too happy about it but things quickly change when he meets his babysitter and things get complicated on day one, when Dan finds out that he falls in love rather quickly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“We’re leaving now, Daniel. Your baby-sitter should be here in 10 minutes.”

Dan sighed as he walked down the stairs. He looked up at his parent’s, who were about to leave the house for the entire weekend.

“Mum. I’m 15 years old. I don’t need a baby-sitter,” Dan moaned. Dan looked over as his mum and dad walked down the hallway. “You never make Adrian have a baby-sitter and he’s three years younger than me. You treat me like a child, it’s not fair.”

“That’s because we don’t have to worry about Adrian causing any trouble.” Dan’s dad said.

Dan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms against his chest.

It was currently a Friday evening and Dan Howell’s parents were off for little getaway as they had been having a couple busy weeks lately. Dan was staying home alone while his little brother was off staying at his friend’s house for the weekend. Though, Dan wasn’t exactly staying home alone as his parents were paying a baby-sitter to watch Dan for the whole weekend as Dan was kind of a trouble maker, as his parents liked called him, and his parents didn’t trust him to be alone for a whole weekend. Dan was always getting into trouble at school; he was always breaking the rules and just hanging out with the wrong people. Dan didn’t mean to cause trouble most of the time. Trouble always seemed to find him somehow.

“It’s only for a weekend. What do you think I’m going to do? It’s nice to know that my own parent’s trust me.” Dan snapped. He rolled his eyes.

“We really don’t have time for this, Daniel.” His mom said.

“Please stop calling me that. It’s Dan. You know I hate the name Daniel.” Dan whined.

“Yes, we know that. Why do you think we keep using it?” His dad asked.

Dan groaned. “Daniel is stupid a name. Dan is better.” He mumbled.

“We’ve given Phil our number so he knows to call us if you do anything wrong.” His mom warned, ignoring what Dan had said about the name.

“Whatever, fine. Have fun on your little trip.” Dan mumbled. He watched as his parents walked out the door. Dan rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen. He walked over to the fridge and pulled a can of Coca Cola out, he sighed and shut the fridge. He then made his way to the living room and grabbed the TV remote and started watching TV. Dan sat there for about 10 minutes, trying to find something on TV that could entertain him.

Dan was sitting on the couch and was still flipping the channels. He was about to give up and turn off the TV but he stopped when he heard knocking at the door. Dan looked up. He sighed and then he stood up from the couch. He walked over to the front door and opened it. He looked up and blinked a few times when he saw a boy he seemed to be older than him. “Can I help you?” Dan asked as he stared at him curiously.

“Um, well… my name’s Phil. I must have the wrong house.” The boy said.

“Wait a minute, are you the baby-sitter?” Dan asked nervously.

The boy, ‘Phil’, nodded but he remained silent.

Dan raised his eyebrows as he stared at Phil. “No. You’re at the right house.” He mumbled.

“Are you Dan?” Phil asked, a little surprised.

Dan slowly nodded. “Yeah. That’s me.” He said.

Phil blinked a few times as he stared at him. “Wow. I was expecting someone a little younger, if I’m being honest.” He told him.

“Well, that’s not my fault, my parents don’t trust me to be alone while they’re gone for the weekend. They seem to think I’m a trouble-maker which I probably am. So, I don’t really blame them for paying a babysitter to watch after me,” Dan sighed and shook his head. “So, sorry you’re disappointed, this is what you’re stuck with for the weekend, come in then.” Dan mumbled. He turned around and then walked away without saying another word to Phil.

Phil frowned as he watched Dan walk away. He nervously stepped into the house and then he shut the door and locked it. Phil looked around for a few seconds. He turned and then he walked into the living room. Phil looked over and then he finally spotted Dan. “So, how old are you anyways?” Phil asked.

Dan looked over at Phil as he sat down on the couch. “15. I look like I’m 12 though,” Dan shrugged his shoulders. “Why? How old are you?” He asked him.

Phil chuckled. “19. I’ll be 20 in a few months. I don’t know… it’s kind of really weird baby-sitting someone who is just four years younger than me. I’ve babysat maybe 11 year old’s before but never 15.” Phil told him. He walked over to the couch and sat down next to Dan.

Dan raised his eyebrows as he looked over at him. “Why are you baby-sitting if you’re 19 years old then? Surely you’d want to be doing something a little more exciting with your life than watching over little kids all the time?” Dan asked, watching Phil carefully.

Phil shrugged his shoulders. “Just trying to make a little extra money.” He mumbled.

“Do you have another job?” Dan asked curiously.

Phil raised his eyebrows as he looked over at him. “Why are you asking me so many questions?”

“Well… we’re going to be spending the whole weekend together, aren’t we? Might as well get to know each other. It’s better than being awkward and not saying anything at all, which is what I was planning to happen.” Dan said. He shrugged his shoulders.

Phil sighed. “I make Youtube videos.” He admitted.

Dan raised his eyebrows. “You make Youtube videos? Do you even make money from that?”

“Not a lot but enough to get me where I need to be. It just depends on how many subscribers and views you get. I’m saving up so I can move out of my parent’s house. I don’t exactly have the best relationship with my parents so I want to get out of there as soon as possible so I can start doing things how I want to in my life,” Phil explained. “That’s why I’m babysitting. I basically just gave you my life story.”

“Oh,” Dan mumbled. “So, what do you want to do then? It’s still early.”

Phil looked at him. “Whatever you want to do is fine with me.” He said.

“There’s not much to do around here to be honest which is why I spend most of my time outside the house. We can either play video games or find a movie to watch? Order pizza or something. That’s pretty much all there is to do in this house,” Dan rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, sure. Sounds good. What movie could we watch?” Phil asked.

“Well, let’s have a look, shall we?” Dan said. He slid off the couch and then he crawled over to the little shelf that had a bunch of DVD’s placed on it. Phil chuckled as he watched Dan. “What movies do you like?” Dan asked as he looked over at Phil.

“Well, um, do you happen to have Kill Bill?” Phil asked.

Dan smiled. “Yeah, of course! It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. I’ve seen it a billion times.” Dan said.

“Really? Not a lot of people have seen that movie,” Phil said, as he sat up.

“Yeah, I get what you mean. It’s really annoying.” Dan said, smiling when he heard Phil laugh.

Dan had basically spent the whole night with Phil; which wasn’t usual for him as he usually spent the night out with his friends or did something that wasn’t inside. Dan just didn’t like to be stuck inside the house with nothing to do. But, Dan liked being around Phil. Even though Phil was a couple years older, he seemed cool and seemed like someone Dan would want to hang out with, and not to mention… they had a lot in common with each other.

Phil was so calm and laid back. Dan felt like he could talk to Phil about anything and Phil would listen to him. They watched movies, ate pizza and popcorn together and talked about everything and nothing all night. It didn’t even feel like Dan had a baby-sitter. It just like hanging out with some of his friends. He liked Phil. Dan had gotten to know Phil and they surprisingly had a lot in common and they shared the same interests. Dan didn’t think he would have much in common with Phil as he was four years older than him. Dan was glad he had Phil as a baby-sitter.

“What time is it?” Dan asked as he stretched his arms out, letting out a yawn as he did so.

“Um…” Phil pulled out his phone from his pocket and looked at the time. “About 10 o'clock.”

Dan raised his eyebrows as he looked over at Phil. “Wow! The day went by really fast.” He said.

“Time flies when you have fun.” Phil joked. He smiled innocently.

Dan laughed. “Shut up. That was so cheesy!” He said.

Phil chuckled and shook his head. “Couldn’t help myself.” He said.

“So… I guess you can sleep on the couch tonight if you want. It’s not very comfortable, to be honest. Or you can share my bed. It’s big enough for two people. I would know… I’ve shared it with two of my friends before. It’s up to you though, really. Whatever you want.” Dan said. He shrugged his shoulders.

Phil bit his lip as he looked over at Dan. “I don’t mind sharing a bed.” He said.

Dan blushed. “Okay, looks like we’re sharing a bed then…” He mumbled. He stood up from the couch. “You can stay up if you want though. I’m a little tired so I’m going to bed.” Dan told him. He looked at Phil one last time before he turned and walked out of the living room. Dan took a deep breath as he walked into his bedroom. He walked over to his dresser and pulled out some pajamas pants and a t-shirt.

“Dan?” Dan looked over and saw Phil standing in the doorway.

“Are you okay?” Phil asked as he walked into Dan’s bedroom.

“I-I’m fine. I guess I’m just tired…” Dan mumbled.

Phil walked over to him. “I’m not stupid, there’s something bothering you. I can tell by the look on your face. You know you can talk to me. I’m here to listen if something’s bothering you. All I want to do is help you.” Phil said. He gave Dan a reassuring smile.

“We’ve only known each other for a couple of hours but I feel like I’ve known you forever,” Dan admitted. He blushed and looked down at his hands. Dan never blushed, not like this at least. There was just something about Phil that made him feel different, a good different though.

Phil couldn’t help but smile. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” He asked curiously.

Dan smiled. “It’s definitely a good thing,” he said. Dan stared at him for a few seconds. Phil went to say something but Dan reached up and kissed him.

Phil’s eyes went wide with shock and then he quickly pushed Dan away. “What the hell?” Phil asked with shock, taking a deep breath as he stared at Dan.

Dan quickly looked away from him. He couldn’t believe that he had just done that, he never did anything like that before. Dan had never kissed anyone before.

“Dan,” Phil warned, crossing his arms against his chest as he stared at Dan. “I can’t just act like that never happened. You fucking kissed me Dan, you’re four years younger than me, you know that.” Phil snapped. He was almost surprised, he never cursed like that before.

“I know that! I’m not stupid, Phil!” Dan snapped back at him. He looked over at Phil and took a deep breath as he stared at him. “What’s the big deal? I mean… it was just a bloody kiss. It’s not like we had sex or something.” He said calmly.

Phil stared at him, biting his lip nervously. He had never been put in this situation before, he didn’t really know how to handle it and he definitely didn’t want to hurt Dan’s feelings either. That was the last thing he wanted to happen “Listen to me, okay?” He took a deep breath, not taking his eyes away from Dan, “I mean… I really like you, Dan. I like you a lot. You’re a really cool guy. We have a lot in common which is amazing because I’ve never ever really met someone in my life who’s had so much in common with me before. Anyways… you’re a nice kid and everything…” Phil began to say.

Dan looked up and he glared at him as soon as he said the word 'kid’. Dan hated to be called a kid. “Don’t you dare call me a kid. I’m a teenager!” He yelled.

“Whatever! It doesn’t matter what you are because I’m a grown up. I’m an adult and you’re not. Nothing could ever happen between us. Alright? So you better get that idea out of your head right now. Do you understand that?” Phil snapped, not meaning to sound so harsh, but he couldn’t help himself.

Dan stared at him with shock, not knowing what to say after that.

Phil took a deep breath as he stared at Dan. He shook his head. “Whatever. See you in the morning, Dan.” He mumbled before walked over to Dan’s door.

Dan bit his lip nervously as he stared at Phil, his eyes watering up a bit as he did so.

Dan and Phil stared at each other a few seconds, not saying anything to each other, just staring at each other.

Phil sighed in frustration and then he walked out of Dan’s bedroom without saying another word to Dan.

“Way to go, Dan. Always fuck something up.” Dan mumbled. He sighed and shook his head.

That was Dan’s first kiss. He couldn’t believe that he actually wasted his first kiss on someone like Phil. All Dan knew was that he was absolutely not looking forward to tomorrow. It was going to be so awkward with Phil. He had to spend two more days with him.


	2. Chapter 2

It was the next morning. Dan woke up around 10 o’ clock in the morning. He usually didn’t wake up this early but he figured that it was probably because he went to bed a little earlier then he usually did last night. Dan usually stayed up until 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning.

Dan groaned as he sat up in his bed and then he looked around his room and sighed. He definitely was not looking forward to this day, and he hoped that he would be able to sneak out of the house so he wouldn’t have to deal with Phil and all of the awkwardness. Though he knew that if he did sneak out then he would be in trouble later. Dan finally stood up from his bed. He took off his pajamas and then he put on some new clothes for the day.

“I need a fucking cigarette,” Dan mumbled as he looked around his room. He sighed when he remember that he left his cigarettes in his jacket, which happened to be hanging on the by the door downstairs. Dan usually didn’t smoke often unless he was out with his friends or when he was stressed and frustrated about something. Only his real, close friends knew that he smoked. His parents didn’t have a clue that he smoked. Neither did his brother. Dan already knew that he would be in so much trouble if his parents ever caught him smoking or doing any type of drugs. Dan finally walked out of his bedroom and made his way downstairs. He almost forgot that Phil was downstairs. He figured Phil must have slept on the couch last night.

Dan bit his lip as he looked into the living room. He didn’t see Phil on the couch which made him nervous. Dan then reached into his jacket and pulled out his cigarettes and lighter. He was about to open the front door but he stopped as soon as he heard Phil call his name. Dan turned and saw Phil walking out of the kitchen. Phil looked up and sighed in relief.

“I thought someone had broken into the house or something…” Phil said.

Dan stared at him, remaining silent, he really didn’t want to speak to Phil at the moment.

Phil blinked a few times when he saw Dan holding something in his hands. “What are you holding in your hands?” Phil asked curiously.

Dan quickly put his hands behind his back. “Nothing,” Dan lied. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Phil rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Dan,” Phil warned. He walked further into the hallway so that he could see Dan better. He took a deep breath, “What do you have in your hands? Don’t you dare lie to me either, tell me the truth, now.” Phil snapped. Phil hated speaking to Dan like this but he couldn’t help it. He was still frustrated and upset from what had happened between them last night, and he still couldn’t believe that Dan had actually kissed him.

Dan scoffed. “Stop talking to me like I’m a child.” He snapped.

Phil frowned. “I’m not talking to you like you’re a child, Dan. Just tell me what you have in your hands.” He said.

“For crying out loud! I have fucking cigarettes, alright?” Dan snapped as he finally held up his cigarettes and lighter.

Phil’s eyes went wide with shock. He didn’t expect Dan to be a smoker, Dan didn’t seem like somebody who smoked.

“Are you happy now?” Dan asked, rolling his eyes.

Phil shook his head. “What the hell, Dan!? You’re only 15 years old!” He yelled with shock.

“Stop telling me how young I am! I get it, Phil! You’re an adult. I’m not. Can we move on from that now?” Dan asked, sighing with frustration.

“This has nothing to do with what happened last night,” Phil said. He took a deep breath. “Do your parents know about this?”

“No!” Dan yelled. He quickly shook his head. “Please don’t tell them about this. I’d get in so much trouble if my mum and dad ever found out that I smoked. I don’t need to get in anymore trouble with my parents. Please don’t tell my parents. I’ll do anything. Just please don’t tell them.” He begged.

“How long have you been smoking?” Phil asked curiously.

“Only for a couple of months.” Dan admitted. He bit his lip nervously.

Phil bit his lip for a few second before he finally walked over to Dan.

Dan looked down at his hands but continued to talk. “At first I only started doing it because my friends were and I just wanted to fit in with everyone else but now it’s turned it an addiction. I’ve tried to stop before but it’s not that easy to stop.” He mumbled.

Phil groaned and shook his head before looking at Dan again.

“I know that it’s wrong! I know that I shouldn’t be smoking at such a young age but I can’t help it.” Dan whispered.

“You’re still very young, Dan. I know that it must be hard for you right now but you really have to stop but need to stop before something bad happens to you,” Phil said. He let out a sigh. “Smoking is not a good thing, and you need to realize that now.”

“Why do you care about what I do?” Dan asked.

Phil frowned. “Of course I care about you!” He exclaimed.

“Yeah, right. Nobody cares about me or what I do,” He mumbled.

“Look, I know that a lot happened between us last night and we still need to talk about it but… I got to know you last night. I know that I would be heartbroken if something happened to you because you smoked.” Phil whispered.

Dan looked down at his pack of cigarettes and took a deep breath. He knew that Phil was right but he didn’t want to listen to him. He wanted to be able to make his own decisions for once in his life. Even if it was a bad decision. Dan would stop whenever he wanted to stop, not because Phil told him to stop.

“I know what I’m doing, trust me Phil,” Dan whispered. He sighed and shook his head. Dan immediately looked over when he heard a knock on the door. “Now what?” Dan asked, rolling his eyes. He quickly put his cigarettes and lighter in his pocket. He reached over and opened the door. He looked up and smiled when he saw his two best friends; Chris and PJ, who went to Dan’s school. “Hey guys!” Dan greeted when he saw him them.

Phil raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms against his chest, as he watched Dan.

“Hey Dan! I’m surprised to see you up so early.” Chris joked.

Dan rolled his eyes. “Ha, ha, ha. Very funny.” He stuck his tongue at Chris. “So, what’s up?” He asked curiously.

“Well, we were just wondering if you wanted to hang out for a bit.” PJ said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Well…” Dan bit his lip nervously. He wasn’t one to turn down his friends, especially on a Saturday. Dan nervously looked back at Phil. Dan sighed and then he looked back at Chris and PJ. Dan knew that he had to do the right thing. “I don’t think I’ll be able to hang out today.” Dan mumbled.

“Okay, now you’re being funny. Come on, Dan!” Chris reached over and pulled Dan onto the porch.

Dan blinked a few times. “Chris, what are you doing?” He asked as he looked over at him.

“Dan…We always hang out on Saturday!” Chris exclaimed, getting a little frustrated with his friend. “What the hell are you doing that’s so important? It’s the one day we get to hang out together where we don’t have to worry about bloody school.”

PJ nodded. “Yeah, and didn’t you say you’re parents were going to be out of town this weekend?” He asked.

“Shit. I did say that didn’t I?” Dan asked, biting his lip.

Both Chris and PJ nodded, PJ crossed his arms against his chest.

Dan sighed and looked up at them again. “Look… I won’t be able to hang out today but I promise that I’ll hang out with you guys next weekend and make it up to you guys. Deal?” Dan asked. “We’ll hang out at school as well, I promise. There’s just a lot going on right now.”

“Fine!” PJ said, sighing in defeat. “Come on, Chris.”

Chris groaned. “You can’t even hang out for a few hours?”

“Sorry,” Dan said, shrugging his shoulders. He did feel bad that he was lying to his friends but he couldn’t let them know that his parents had gotten him a baby-sitter. It would ruin his reputation at school, he didn’t even want to imagine what people would say if they knew that he had a baby-sitter.

“Chris!” PJ yelled. He reached over and grabbed his arm.

Dan raised his eyebrows as he watched PJ whisper something in Chris’s ear. Chris gasped with excitement.

“See you later, Dan!” Chris yelled. PJ smirked and then he pulled Chris off the porch.

“Kids,” Dan whispered, shaking his head. He couldn’t help but smile though. He knew that Chris and PJ really liked each other. They had been best friends for years. Both of them were too afraid to say anything to each other though, which was totally understandable in Dan’s opinion.

Dan finally turned around and then he walked back into the house. He sighed as he reached over and shut the door. He looked up and blinked a few times when he saw Phil staring at him. “Why are you staring at me like that?” Dan asked nervously.

“No reason. Who were they?” Phil asked curiously.

Dan rolled his eyes. “None of your business.” Gw said. He walked into the living room.

“Dan, come on. Don’t be like this,” Phil groaned. He quickly followed Dan. “We’re going to have to deal with each other all day today and tomorrow. Your parents aren’t going to be home until late tomorrow either. So, we better sort this out now while we can because I really don’t want things to be awkward between us.” Phil said as he walking into the living room. Phil bit his lip nervously as he watched as Dan walked over to the couch.

“Why? It’s not like we’re going to see each other after this weekend.” Dan mumbled as he sat down on the couch.

“You don’t know that, Dan. I only live like 20 minutes away from here. We might bump into each other or something. I really don’t want things to be awkward between us. I wasn’t kidding when I said that I really liked you last night. I want us to have a friendship that will last for a long time,” Phil said.

Dan looked up at him with shock. No one has ever said anything to him like that before.

“Please?” Phil begged. He sat down next to Dan. “Can we at least try to fix this friendship before it completely crumbles?”

“Why would you want to be my friend though? I mean, for crying out loud! I’m a fucking 15 year old. It’s like you said…You’re an adult. Why would you want to waste your time on a stupid teenager like me?” Dan asked. He shrugged his shoulders.

Phil shook his head. “Don’t say that, Dan. You’re not stupid. I think you’re quite smart for someone your age.”

Dan smiled. “You really think so? Nobody’s ever said that to me before.” He whispered.

“No one? Not even your parents?” Phil asked, a little shocked.

Dan shook his head. “They don’t really want anything to do with me. They only care about Adrian, their perfect son. They probably think I’m a mistake and they probably wish they’d never had me.” He mumbled as he looked down at his hands.

“Dan, don’t say that. I’m sure your parents love you no matter what. You are their son no matter what.” Phil assured him.

Dan shrugged his shoulders, not saying anything after that.

Phil frowned. “How about we go make some breakfast? Take your mind off this. Maybe it’ll cheer you up,” he said.

“Okay,” Dan nodded. He finally looked up at Phil again. “I usually just have cereal though…”

“Do you happen to have any pancake mix?” Phil asked curiously.

Dan raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, I think so. But I hope you know how to cook because I don’t.” He said.

Phil laughed. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. I won’t burn the house down.” He said.

Dan let out a laugh and rolled his eyes playfully. “Good because then I will definitely get in trouble if mum and dad came back to find their house burnt down.”

Phil also laughed. He then stood up from the couch. He held out a hand for Dan to took. Dan smiled as he stared at Phil’s hand and took it. Phil gently pulled him up. They finally made their way into the kitchen. Dan grabbed the pancake mix from the cabinet.

“Well, here you go…” Dan said as he handed the pancake mix to Phil.

Phil took it from him. “Thank you.” He said. Dan jumped up onto the counter and watched Phil as he began to cook.

“This should be interesting,” Dan said as he watched Phil.

Phil let out a laugh. “It probably, most likely will be.” He agreed.

Dan was actually feeling much better than he was earlier, a whole lot better. Phil had finally made them pancakes. Instead of just sitting there and watching the whole time, Dan had actually made his own pancakes with the help of Phil. Dan had never cooked anything before so it was a fun experience for him. He was glad that Phil was the one how had taught him cook anything. They had a lot of fun while cooking, there were a lot of smiles and laughs.

“These are so good.” Dan said as he was eating his pancakes. He was sitting with Phil at the kitchen table.

Phil couldn’t help but smile as he looked up at Dan. “I’m glad you think so.”

“Where did you learn to cook like that?” Dan asked curiously.

“I used to watch my mum while she cooked when I was younger. I guess I just picked up on her.” Phil said.

“I think you did because these are the best pancakes that I’ve ever had.” Dan said.

Phil chuckled and shook his head, and continued to eat his own pancakes.

Dan bit his lip nervously as he looked up at Phil. “Phil?” Dan took a deep breath. “Thank you…” He whispered.

“What are you saying thankful for?” Phil asked, raising his eyebrows.

“I know I’m probably a handful to deal with, but… what you said earlier… It meant a lot to me.” Dan mumbled.

Phil shook his head. “You shouldn’t feel so down about yourself, Dan. You’re an amazing person.” He told him.

Dan blushed and looked away from him. “I don’t think I am but… thanks anyways.” He mumbled.

“Let’s just forget about what happened, like you said. Let’s just move on from that.” Phil suggested.

Dan nodded. “Yeah, okay…” He said. “Sounds good to me.” Dan took a deep breath.

“Relax Dan; everything’s going to be fine! I promise.” Phil whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

The weekend quickly passed by, unfortunately. Dan wasn’t looking forward to having his parents and brother home again. He liked being home alone. Well, he liked being home alone with Phil. Things were still slightly awkward, especially for Dan. But, that didn’t stop him from talking to Phil and getting to know him. Dan had definitely learned something about himself this past weekend. He was one that fell in love very quickly. There were definitely feelings there for Phil. Dan just wished Phil would stop worrying about their age differences. He didn’t understand what the big deal was but Phil didn’t want to get in trouble and Dan didn’t want to push him as every time Dan tried to talk about it, Phil would ignore him and get upset. Dan didn’t want to mess anything else up. And even though Dan had only known Phil for three days they had gotten to know each other and Phil’s friendship was important to Dan and he didn’t want to lose it.

“I really wish that you didn’t have to leave so soon,” Dan whined. He and Phil were sitting with each other on the couch in the living room. It was Sunday, around 6 o'clock at the moment. Dan’s parents would be coming home in an hour, and Dan wished that they weren’t coming home so soon.

Phil immediately looked over at Dan. “Don’t worry, Dan! I promise this won’t be the last time we’ll see each other. We will see each other after this.” Phil assured him. It went silent for a few seconds. “I know what we could do! Give me your phone.” Phil said.

Dan raised his eyebrows as he looked at Phil. “But, why would you…” He began to say.

“Oh, you ask too many questions! Just give me your bloody phone.” Phil warned playfully.

Dan laughed and pulled out his phone and then he handed it to Phil. Dan watched as Phil messed with his phone. Phil reached over and gave Dan his phone back. Dan blinked a few times as he glanced down at his phone and then he looked back up at Phil again. Phil gave him a smile, “Now you have my phone number and you can call me whenever you want and we can meet-up and have a nice catch up if that’s what you wanted,” Phil said.

“You sure you won’t get sick of me?” Dan asked jokingly.

Phil laughed and shook his head. “I’m sure I won’t.” He said.

Dan smiled and then he let out a sigh. He was still upset that Phil was leaving. Dan wanted to spend more time with Phil. Three days wasn’t enough.

“Promise me that you’ll try to stop smoking?” Phil asked.

“I’ve tried to before. Phil, it’s not that easy.” Dan mumbled.

Phil scooted closer to Dan. “I know it’s not easy, but I have faith in you.” Phil whispered.

Dan immediately looked up at him, taking a deep breath.

“I know that you can stop if you just try.” Phil said.

“I’ll try,” Dan smiled slightly. “But I’m not promising you anything, Phil.”

Phil sighed. “I guess that’s better than nothing,” he said.

“But, I swear to God…If you tell my parents that I smoke…” Dan looked up when he heard the front door open.

“I won’t tell them, I promise.” Phil whispered.

Dan looked over at him again. Dan looked up again when his parents walked into the living room a few seconds later. Dan held in his breath. Dan was panicking and he didn’t know why. He just couldn’t help but freak out like this.

Phil also looked over at Dan’s parents, but remained silent, unsure of what to say.

“Ah, hello boys…” Dan’s mom, Diane said. “How was your weekend?” She asked.

“It was fine,” Dan said quickly before Phil said anything.

“That’s good. How was he Phil? Was he any trouble?” Diane asked as she looked over at Phil.

Dan rolled his eyes and crossed his arms against his chest.

Phil blinked a few times and looked over at Dan again. “Um, well…” Phil looked back at Diane. “No, he wasn’t. Everything was fine.”

“Really? He didn’t get in any trouble at all?” Dan’s dad, John, asked.

“Dad!” Dan yelled. He sighed in frustration.

Phil quickly stood up from the couch. “Um, well… I should probably get going then.” Phil said. He really didn’t want to go though. He’d much rather stay here and spend more time with Dan but he knew that he couldn’t. His parents would probably question him for wanting to hang out with a 15 year old.

“Ah, yes…Here. We have to pay you first.” John said.

“No, it’s fine…You don’t have to pay me.” Phil said. He took a deep breath.

Dan glanced up at Phil but then he quickly looked away from him again. Dan just absolutely hated how his parents treated him. He was 15 years old. Yet… they still treated him like a five year old, even when there were people around the house which annoyed Dan even more. It was just one of the many reasons Dan either stayed locked up in his room or stayed outside, or stayed away from his family in general. His home life sucked, honestly.

“Really? You don’t want anything at all? I’m sure Dan was a handful.” John said.

“No, really. Dan was no trouble at all. I enjoyed the whole weekend with Dan,” Phil assured them. Phil walked over to the chair, where his bag was resting on, and took it. “See you later Dan.” Phil whispered. He glanced over at Dan. Phil frowned when Dan didn’t say anything back to him. Phil said goodbye to Dan’s parents and then he left without saying another word. Though he wished he could have said goodbye to Dan differently.

Diane sighed as she looked over at Dan. “Is this how you acted the whole weekend, Dan?” She asked.

“We raised you better than this, Daniel. Go up to your room. We’ll call you down when dinner’s ready.” John said.

“I don’t want any dinner. You guys always have to ruin everything for me!” Dan yelled. He stood up from the couch. He pushed passed his parents and then he walked out of the living room and ran up the stairs to his bedroom, slamming the door shut. Dan regretted not saying goodbye to Phil. Dan already missed him already and it’s not even been five minutes since he left. Phil kept Dan sane and happy, now what was he going to do?

The next morning; Dan was up at 6:30 in the morning for school, and Dan was not looking forward to school. He hated everything about school… He hated the students, apart from Chris and PJ. He hated the homework and tests and the teachers. He couldn’t wait to be done with high school but he knew that he still had three years of high school to go through. Dan honestly had no idea how he was going to survive three more years of this hell.

Dan sighed as he walked up to the school. It was an hour later, 7:30 in the morning. Dan walked into the school. The bell had just rang which meant the students had five minutes to get to class or else they’d be marked down as late, which happened a lot to Dan as he spent a lot of time talking with Chris and PJ in the hallways. Dan looked around once he walked into the school. He started to walk down the hallway but he stopped when he noticed that quite a lot of people were staring and whispering at him. Dan blinked a few times but he kept walking. He finally made his way towards his locker.

“Dan!” Dan ignored whoever called his name and opened his locker. He looked over when Chris and PJ had run up to him.

“Is it true?” PJ asked once they finally ran up to Dan.

Dan let out a sigh. “Is what true? What’s going on with you two?” He asked curiously.

“We got into school this morning and everybody was talking about you.” Chris told him.

“Yeah, but why are they talking about me? I haven’t done anything.” Dan mumbled, shrugging his shoulders.

“We know why you couldn’t hang out with us this weekend…” PJ started to say.

Dan immediately froze, but he still remained silent, hoping they weren’t talking about what he thought they we.

“I can’t believe it! You had a baby-sitter?!” Chris whispered.

“How did you find out?” Dan hissed as he looked at PJ.

PJ gasped. “Oh my fucking God. So it is true?!” He asked.

Dan quickly shushed him, nervously looked around to see if anyone was listening.

PJ rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on, Dan… Everybody knows anyway.” He said.

“So, what was he like? What’s his name? How old is he? Is he single?” Chris asked.

“Chris.” Dan warned. He rolled his eyes. Dan was extremely annoyed that everybody in the school knew that he had gotten a baby-sitter this weekend. It was embarrassing and he knew what people at school were like. He just hoped that everybody wouldn’t make a big deal out of it, as it was such a little thing, but knowing this school… Dan knew that wouldn’t happen, they were going to make this into a much bigger deal than it was and Dan was not looking forward to it.

“Typical Chris. Making jokes in a serious situation.” PJ said.

Chris ignored him though. “Is he cute? Did you get his number?” He asked.

“Chris!” Dan yelled. He slammed his locker shut once he got his books out.

Chris jumped slightly. He raised his eyebrows as he stared at Dan.

“It’s not like you could ever have a chance with him anyways.” Dan mumbled.

Chris pouted. “Well, why the hell not?” He asked.

Dan sighed. “His name is Phil. He’s 19 years old and he freaks out about the whole age gap crap which is really annoying because he actually is really cute,”

PJ raised his eyebrows as he stared at Dan. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked curiously.

Dan bit his lip. “It’s a long story but we are so not discussing that part here. How did people find out about this anyways? Who started the rumor?” Dan asked nervously as he looked at Chris and PJ back and forth. He wanted to know who started the rumor, and then he wanted to confront them about it.

“Your brother.” Chris and PJ said at the same time.

Dan’s eyes went wide with shock. “What the actual fuck?! I’m going to fucking kill him!” Dan yelled with anger. Dan and Adrian didn’t have the best brother relationship. They were usually civil with each other. It’s not like they hated each other, they teased each other and sometimes Dan wanted to rip Adrian’s head off of his shoulder. Dan never thought that Adrian would do something like this. Dan immediately walked away from Chris and PJ.

Chris and PJ immediately looked at each other once Dan was gone.

“Today’s going to be an interesting day, huh?” Chris said.

PJ laughed and pushed him playfully. “Shut up, you idiot. Let’s go make sure Dan doesn’t destroy the school.”

Chris also laughed. “I’d be totally okay if he did destroy the school.” He said.

Once school was finally over, Dan immediately went home. Dan hadn’t seen Adrian at all the whole day so he wanted to go straight home to confront Adrian about the rumor that he had started. He was not happy, he was angry. He’d never been this angry in his life before, surprisingly.

“Adrian?!” Dan shouted as soon as he walked into his house. He slammed the door shut.

“Kitchen!” Dan took a deep breath as soon as he heard Adrian’s voice. He went straight to the kitchen to find Adrian standing in front of the fridge. Adrian looked over and smiled when he saw Dan. “Hey Dan.” Adrian greeted.

Dan glared at him. “You’re fucking dead to me,” Dan snapped. He walked over to the fridge and slammed it shut.

Adrian immediately jumped back. “What the hell? You could have smashed my fingers!” AHe yelled.

“How could you do this to me?” Dan asked, taking deep breaths. “You told the school that I had a baby-sitter this weekend!”

“Look, it was just for fun.” Adrian said. He shrugged his shoulders.

“No! It wasn’t just a joke, Adrian. People at school are taking it seriously. Today was hell for me. I couldn’t even walk in the halls today without people staring at me and whispering things at me. That never happens to me. Never! I hope you’re really fucking happy with yourself. Everything that I enjoyed about school is gone, out the window. Because of this stupid rumor that you started. Wait a minute, who did you even talk to?!” Dan asked angrily.

“That’s not for you to know, and you’re not going to find out,” Adrian said. He sighed. “Look, just calm down, alright? I’m sure people will forget about this in a week. There’s always a new rumor at that school. They’ll forget about you and your stupid baby-sitter in no time.”

Dan sighed. “You will pay for this, I hope you know that.” He warned.

“I’m not worried Dan, so I don’t know why you’re wasting your time,” Adrian said.

Adrian knew that Dan was angry but it didn’t really bother him that much. He had seen Dan like this before.

“I can’t even believe this! Wow, my own brother. Trust me; I know plenty of things about you that I could tell your stupid little friends. So, you better hope that everyone forgets about this by next week or you’ll be sorry you ever started this rumor.” Dan hissed.

Adrian stared at him with wide eyes; now he was slightly worried. “Dan, wait a minute…” Adrian started to say.

Dan shook his head. “You’re the worst brother in the world, I’m not even joking, and I hope you know that. I never want to speak to you again.” Dan snapped before he turned around and walked out of the living room without saying another word to Adrian.

“Oh, yeah right. You’ll be over this by next week.” Adrian said, even though he knew Dan didn’t hear him. Adrian shook his head. Of course, Adrian felt bad for Dan but he knew that things would die down by next week. Or, so he hoped. He had no idea what things Dan could tell his friends.


	4. Chapter 4

It’s been a whole month since everybody at Dan’s school had found out that Phil babysat him for a weekend. Things were getting worse and worse as days passed. It had gotten to the point where Dan was making up excuses just so he wouldn’t have to go to school. People were treating him like he was a child, and they were name-calling and he had even gotten beaten up once which hadn’t happened to him in a while. Dan absolutely hated it. He hated Adrian. Dan hadn’t spoken to Adrian at all, even though Adrian has tried to speak to him multiple times. Dan just ignored him.

The worst part everything was that Dan was completely ignoring Phil even though he desperately wanted to talk to him. Phil always sent him texts; DM’s on twitter and even tweeted him a few times. Dan ignored him though. Everybody knew Phil around town. Most people in town had figured out that he was the ‘the baby-sitter’ that Dan had but they just left it because they hadn’t been hanging out with each other much.

Now it’s been three days since Dan had been to school. He had told his parents that he was sick but now they were forcing him to go to school. Dan wasn’t ready to go back to school. His parents knew nothing of what was going on, they wouldn’t care anyways. Dan didn’t want to tell the teachers or the principal because he knew that would just make things worse. People would just think he was too weak to stand up for himself, which was not the case at all.

It was 7 o'clock in the morning on a Friday. Dan was walking to school. He had started walking as he couldn’t ride the bus anymore because people would tease him. Not even listening to music would help, which it usually did. Music was something that always kept Dan calm no matter what.

“Howell!” Dan quickly turned a corner as soon as he heard someone say his name. He tried run as fast as he could but it didn’t take long before someone grabbed his arm and harshly threw him against the brick wall. Dan groaned as soon as he hit the wall. “Where do you think you’re going?” The boy asked as he kept his grip on Dan. Dan opened his eyes and looked up at the boy and took a deep breath. “Well?” It was Adam Johnson. Adam has been his bully this month. Adam is the one who found out from Adrian that Dan had a baby-sitter. He’s the one who started the drama around Dan.

Adam had even got Chris and PJ to stop talking to him which really hurt Dan as Chris and PJ had been his best friends for years, since they were little kids. Dan could tell that Chris and PJ wanted to talk to him but were afraid of people would think and say about them as well.

“Well, I was on my way to school before you rudely stopped me,” Dan mumbled. That one immediately earned a punch to that stomach. Dan groaned as he slid down and fell to the ground. Dan grabbed a hold of his stomach and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the pain that was now running through his body. Dan finally re-opened his eyes and nervously looked up at Adam but didn’t say anything, he was too afraid to say anything. Dan wasn’t usually like this. He was usually outspoken and said what he wanted to say. Dan was going back to his old routes; being that shy boy that nobody wanted to talk to, that’s how he was before he started high school. Chris and PJ would be the only ones that he talked to but high school changed him and he was grateful for that.

Adam glared at him. “Don’t speak to me that way.” He warned.

Dan stared at him as his eyes began to water up. “Look, if you’re gonna beat me up then just do it.” He said.

Adam smirked. “Alright, you asked for it then.” Adam reached down and pulled Dan up from the ground. Adam raised his first.

Dan closed his eyes, preparing himself for the punch that he was about to receive.

“Hey!” Adam immediately turned and saw an older boy walking towards them. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Dan looked up and gasped as soon as he saw it was Phil. He’d never been so thankful to see anyone in his life.

“Dan, come over here.” Phil warned, glaring at Adam.

Dan pushed Adam away from him and immediately ran over to Phil.

Phil pulled Dan closer to him. “What did Dan to deserve to be punched? Huh?” Phil asked.

Adam scoffed. “He… He just…” He started to say.

Phil crossed his arms against his chest. “Well?” He asked.

Adam glared at him, not saying anything to him.

“That’s exactly what I thought,” Phil said. He shook his head.

“He did deserve it!” Adam yelled. “Who are you anyways?”

“That’s none of your business,” Phil snapped. “I suggest you get out of here and stay the hell away from Dan.”

“Or else what? You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do.” Adam said calmly.

“Or else I’ll get the police involved, that’s what I’ll do.” Phil hissed.

Adam’s eyes went wide with shock. He quickly ran past Dan and was soon out of sight, which Dan was thankful for.

“What a jerk.” Phil whispered. He shook his head and then he sighed.

Phil immediately turned and looked down at Dan. He frowned when he noticed a tear slip out of Dan’s eyes.

“Dan, a-are you okay?” Phil asked nervously, biting his lip slightly.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Dan whispered, not looking at Phil.

“I know I didn’t have to do it, but I just did it anyways because I care about you and I don’t want you getting hurt.” Phil said. He bit his lip nervously as he watched Dan for a few seconds. “Did he hurt you at all?” He asked curiously, immediately wanting to help Dan.

Dan nervously looked down at his stomach, which was still hurting from the punch Adam threw at him, and bit his lip. He slowly lifted his short up a tiny bit, revealing a rather large bruise. Dan sighed as he stared at it. Great, just what Dan needed. Another bruise on his body.

Phil frowned as soon as he saw the bruise. Phil didn’t know what was going on in Dan’s life at the moment but he didn’t like to see him bruised and beat up like this. He had been in this position before and it was never fun, so he definitely wanted to help Dan. “That doesn’t look too good. Come on Dan, we’ll go back to mine and get that cleaned up. Don’t want it to get infected. Trust me; I’ve had bruises like that before.” Phil said. Dan looked up at him.

Dan rolled his. “Fine. But, wait…What about school? Mum and dad will probably kill me if I skipped again.” Dan said.

Phil raised his eyebrows as he stared at Dan. “Come on Dan, didn’t you say you just skipped three days of school?” He asked. “I’m sure you won’t mind missing another day of school.” He said, giving Dan a small smile.

Dan blinked a few times as he stared at Phil. “Why are you doing this?” He asked as he stared at Phil.

“Dan,” Phil warned. He took a deep breath. “You know why I’m doing this.”

Dan sighed in defeat and then he slowly nodded. “Fine.” He mumbled.

Phil grabbed Dan’s arm gently and started to lead him towards his house.

Dan was actually very happy to see Phil. He really was. He just still had feelings for Phil even though he had only known Phil for three days and it had been over a month since they had last seen each other. Dan knew that he couldn’t have Phil the way he wanted to have him, which was the part that was killing him the most. Dan was only 15 years old. He shouldn’t be worrying about relationships. He didn’t want to be thinking about relationships but here he was.

“So, you didn’t answer any of my texts or messages,” Phil said to Dan.

Dan and Phil were now at Phil’s house. They were currently in Phil’s bathroom, and Dan was sitting on the counter… with his shirt off.

“How come?” Phil asked, glancing up at Dan for a quick second.

“I’ve been busy,” Dan mumbled, shrugging his shoulders. “A lot has happened…”

“Like what?” Phil asked as he reached down and pulled out a washcloth.

“Can you grab an extra one of those so I can use it to bite on? In case anything stings?” Dan asked nervously.

Phil chuckled and pulled out a second washcloth and then he handed it to Dan. Dan immediately took it from him.

“So, what exactly have you been busy with?” Phil asked curiously as he got the washcloth wet.

“Well, if you must know…I’ve been busy trying come up with excuses so I wouldn’t have to go to school because people are jerks who like to bully me because I have a baby-sitter… Ah!” Dan gasped as soon as Phil dabbed the washcloth on his chest.

“I only got it wet.” Phil said as he looked up at Dan.

“I don’t care! It still burns when you touch it!” Dan whined.

Phil shook his head. “Continue,” He said as he continued to clean Dan’s bruise.

“My brother told the entire school that I had a baby-sitter. They started teasing me about it. I could handle the name calling at first but then the boy you stopped from beating me up started making up stories about this whole thing…”

“Have you told your parents about what was going on?” Phil asked.

Dan shook his head. “They don’t care about what happens to me.” He mumbled.

“Dan, hey… come on, look at me,” Phil sighed. “Your parents do love you. I wish you would see that.” He whispered.

Dan took a deep breath. “They only pay attention to me when I get in trouble, and I bet they think that I’m a mistake.” He mumbled.

Phil frowned as he stared at Dan, listening to what he was saying. That was the second time he heard Dan say something like that and it broke Phil’s heart to hear Dan talking about himself like that. He didn’t deserve it. Phil knew that Dan was a great person, and he deserved better than this.

“No, please don’t say that about yourself Dan,” Phil said calmly. He took a deep breath as he watched Dan look away from him and whip away a tear that slipped out of his eye. Phil quickly shook his head, “Okay… Let’s talk about something else.”

Dan slowly nodded. “Okay…” He whispered before he took a deep breath.

“So, what’s this about bullying at school? How bad is it?” He asked curiously.

“People bully me because they think I’m a loser for having a baby-sitter…” Dan sighed, “My brother told Adam and he kind of made everything worse. I’ve had to come up with excuses just so I wouldn’t have to go to school and deal with everyone. I just skipped three days when I told my parents I was sick when I really wasn’t. I’m just… I’m so tired of people treating me like I’m a kid. I’m not a bloody kid! I’m 15 years old for crying out fucking loud and I know what I’m doing with my life and I know what I want to do with my life. Nobody ever listens to me.” Dan mumbled.

“You’re still young, Dan.” Phil told him.

Dan rolled his eyes. “Quit telling me that! I obviously know that I’m still young but that doesn’t mean that I’m not capable of doing things. I know that I’m still young but I’m also gr-growing up,” Dan mumbled as a few more tears fell out of his eyes. “I’m not denying the fact that I’m still a teenager. You keep reminding me that and I get it, okay? Honestly… I haven’t forgotten the fact that I’m a teenager! I know that I’m a teenager.” Dan snapped.

Phil stared at him nervously, taking a few deep breaths.

“I just wish you would see that I’m mature enough…” Dan whispered, he stared down at his hands.

“Oh God. I know that I’m going to regret what I’m about to do.” Phil whispered. Phil leaned forward and pressed his lips against Dan’s. Dan’s eyes went wide with shock; that was the last thing he expected to happen. He hesitated a few seconds before he finally kissed Phil back. Dan and Phil continued to kiss each other for a few seconds before Phil gently wrapped his arms around Dan and held onto him. Dan wrapped his legs around Phil’s waist as they kissed. He finally pulled away. Dan took a deep breath as he stared at Phil shock, not sure of what to say now after that kiss.

“You know Phil; you’re still technically a teenager too, just like me. You said that you were 19! That’s only four years older than me. You’re not properly an adult until you’re about, mm, 20 years old,” Dan said, smirking a little bit as he looked up at Phil.

Phil chuckled and shook his head. “Yeah, but that’s not what adults are going to think.” Phil said.

Dan sighed and nodded. “I know that.” He mumbled.

Phil pulled Dan closer to him, keeping a hold of him. “I would absolutely love to be in a relationship with you, Dan. I do have feelings for you, you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met. But… I really don’t want to get you or me in trouble. Your parents will probably keep you away from me if they ever found out about this which would break my heart, or I would probably be sent to jail which would be even worse. I would not survive in jail…” Phil said.

“We could keep it a secret. I mean… I really wouldn’t mind.” Dan whispered.

“Dan, no. We’re not doing that. You’re still young and I don’t want you to keep your relationship hidden. You’ve never been in a serious relationship before. You should be able to be with someone you love and have fun with your friends without worrying about anything. You shouldn’t have to hide from anyone, especially your parents,” Phil told him. He let out a sigh.

Dan rolled his eyes and shook his head. “At this point…I don’t even have any friends, unless Chris and PJ still count. I don’t care about what my parents say anyway either. They never pay attention to what I do. They’re too busy working! I like you a lot Phil, and I would do anything to be with you. I just want to be with you. I mean, it feels so good to see you again, especially since I haven’t seen you in a whole month.” Dan said, before letting out a sigh.

“Well, I wanted to meet-up and hang out but someone wasn’t answering their texts!” Phil exclaimed.

Dan giggled. “Hey, shut up!” He pushed Phil playfully. “Come on, Phil! You’re thinking too much about this whole relationship thing. It’s really not that big of a deal and I wish that you would see that. It’s like I said before… I would do anything to be with you. I don’t care if we hid our relationship or not. I just want to be with you and only you, no one else.” He whispered.

“Let’s talk about this later. I still want to clean this bruise up.” Phil said.

Dan frowned and shook his head. “But, Phil, can’t we just…” Dan started to say.

Phil ignored him though and continued to clean Dan’s bruise.


	5. Chapter 5

“Okay…Does it feel any better, Dan?” Phil asked as he watched Dan slide off the bathroom counter.

Phil had finally just finished cleaning up Dan’s bruise. It was still there but it looked better and it didn’t hurt Dan as much as it did when he first got it. Dan looked up at Phil and nodded. “It feels a lot better actually… it doesn’t hurt anymore.” Dan told him.

Phil smiled. He bit his lip nervously as he looked at Dan. “So, have you had anything to eat for breakfast yet?” Phil asked.

Dan rolled his eyes as he looked up at Phil again. “Phil. I had a bowl of cereal before I left for school. Honestly, I’m fine. I’m not hungry or anything.” He said.

Phil couldn’t help but smile. He grabbed Dan’s arm gently and led him out of the bathroom.

“So, where are your parents at then?” Dan asked curiously.

Phil rolled his eyes as he looked over at Dan. “You ask a lot of questions,” He said.

Dan smiled innocently. “What can I say? I’m just a curious person.” He said.

Phil laughed. “Obviously! I can tell with all the questions that you constantly ask me all the time.”

“Hey! Don’t make fun of me!” Dan whined. He stuck his tongue out at Phil.

Phil smiled. He walked over to the fridge and then he pulled out two cans of Coca Cola.

“Are you sure you don’t have anything else better to do then hang out with me?” Dan asked.

Phil rolled his eyes. “Dan, honestly, I spent a whole weekend with you. I really don’t mind spending more time with you. I kind of like having you around anyways, which is kind of funny because what other 19 year old would want to hang out with an annoying 15 year old?” Phil joked.

Dan pouted. “Phil!” He whined. “I’m not that annoying.”

Phil laughed. “Come on,” He grabbed Dan’s arm and led the way into the living room. “To answer your question before… my parents are at work and they’ll be gone all day so we’ll have the whole house to ourselves.” Phil assured him.

“Oh.” Dan mumbled. They both sat down on the couch next to each other. It went silent for a few seconds. Dan bit his lip nervously as he looked over at Phil. He took a deep breath, “Hey, Phil? W-Would you ever be ashamed if they saw me with you?” Dan asked nervously. “I-I just wanted to know because you always freak out about the age gap. Like, would you care if someone saw us together? Even if they saw us together… just as friends?”

Phil immediately looked at him, a little shocked by his question.

Dan quickly looked down at his hands, afraid of what Phil was going to reply with.

“It’s not that, Dan. I’m not ashamed at all, in fact,” Phil said. He took a deep breath, “It’s just… my parents like to know who I hang out with. They ask a lot of questions. They would ask about your age and they would know how young you are…”

“It’s not like we’re dating or anything.” Dan mumbled.

Phil sighed and sat his can of Coca Cola down on the coffee table. He looked over at Dan again. “That’s not the point…”

“What’s the big deal anyways?!” Dan asked with annoyance. He sighed. “People should be allowed to date who they want to date! Four years is not that big of a difference. It’s better than being 10 years apart from each other at least, isn’t it?”

“You’re cute.” Phil said, shaking his head at Dan.

Dan glared at him, but Phil ignored him and continued on.

“I have to film a video later but… you can still hang around if you want. I don’t mind if you stay.” Phil said.

“You have to film a video? Wow. Can I watch?” Dan asked him.

Phil raised his eyebrows. “If you want. Or you can even be in it if you want.” Phil said, looking over at Dan.

Dan’s eyes went wide with shock. “No!” He yelled.

Phil laughed at him. “Aw, come on Dan. It’ll be fun!” He sang.

“No way in hell! I do not want my face all over the internet.” Dan said, blushing.

“It’s not like that many people would see you. I only have 100,000 subscribers.” Phil said.

“Jesus Christ, Phil! Only!?” Dan shook his head, “How long have you been doing this?” He asked.

“About… two years,” Phil said. He shrugged his shoulders, “Haven’t you ever watched videos on Youtube before?” He asked.

“Maybe I could check it out while you’re filming.” Dan said, smiling.

“Yeah. You can borrow my laptop if you want.” Phil told him.

“Yeah. I’d like to see how this whole Youtube thing works. It seems pretty interesting.” Dan said.

Phil nodded. “You really should check it out. There are tons of cool people on there that I watch, and I really think that you’d like it. Maybe one day you could be a Youtuber if you get into it. I think you’d make a good one!” Phil exclaimed, smiling.

Dan blushed. “I don’t know about that.” He mumbled.

Dan pulled out his phone out of his pocket as soon as he felt it vibrating in his pocket.

Phil raised his eyebrows as he watched him.

Dan looked down at his phone and bit his lip when he saw that Chris had sent him a text. Again. Dan sighed. He really did miss hanging out with Chris and PJ, it had been a month since they’ve properly hung out with each other. They always had fun when they were together, even when they did the most stupid, ridiculous things that got them in trouble. Chris and PJ had been texting Dan even though they refused to hang out with him. Dan never text them back though, no matter what they said. Sometimes he regretted it but he only wanted to text them unless they actually hung out with him.

To: Dan

From: Chris

Hey, where are you at? Can we talk? It’s important.

Dan rolled his eyes and sat his phone down.

Phil raised his eyebrows as he watched Dan. “Who was that?” He asked curiously.

Dan looked over at him. “Oh, uh, it’s just Chris.” He mumbled. He shrugged his shoulders.

“I thought you said that they weren’t talking to you?” Phil asked.

Dan nodded. “They aren’t but they still text me every once in a while,” Dan sighed and shook his head. “It’s just… why should I text them back when they’re too embarrassed about hanging out with me around other people. All they care about is their stupid reputation. They’re supposed to be my best friends but they’re not acting like they are. They never even stopped other students when they beat me up. They just stood there and watched the whole thing happen.”

Phil frowned. He reached over and then he grabbed Dan’s phone.

Dan blinked a few times as he watched Phil. “What are you…?” He began to ask.

“Sounds like he wants to talk to you.” Phil said once he read the text. He gave the phone back to Dan.

“Yeah, he’ll probably ask to meet-up somewhere where people won’t see us,” Dan scoffed, “No, thank you.”

“You can invite them over to mine if you want. I won’t mind if you have them over.” Phil said.

“No fucking way! Are you serious?” Dan yelled. He quickly shook his head. “That has bad idea written all over it. Besides, Chris has already asked too many questions about you. He knows more than he should.” Dan snapped.

Phil raised his eyebrows. “What exactly did you tell him about me?” He asked.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t tell him much about you…” Dan said.

“I guess that’s okay. But still, what did you talk to him about?” Phil asked curiously.

Dan shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I told him that your name was Phil and that you were older, and that he would never have a chance with you so he shouldn’t even try. Though, I don’t know why he would even think about dating you. It’s so obvious that he’s in love with PJ, everybody knows it, well… except him.” Dan said, rolling his eyes.

“Well, you’re damn right about that!” Phil said, smiling, “I’d much rather be with you.”

Dan blushed. “Well, it makes me really happy to hear you say that.” He whispered.

It’s been about two hours now since Dan had arrived at Phil’s house. Dan had stayed in the living room while Phil was in his bedroom, working on his new video. Dan was sitting on the couch, with Phil’s laptop. Dan decided that instead of watching Phil film his new video that he would just watch some of the videos that he had already made on his Youtube channel. Phil had talked to Dan about what he did on Youtube and Dan thought it was pretty cool and interesting so he decided that he wanted to check it out for himself and see what it was all about, and why Phil loved making Youtube videos.

Phil was just walking out of his bedroom and was walking into the living room. It’s been two hours so he figured maybe taking a break wouldn’t hurt. He was in no rush to get his video up. Phil looked up and bit his lip when he saw that Dan was watching his videos. Phil walked over to the couch and leaned on the back.

Dan jumped and looked up at him. “You scared me!” He yelled, and then he took his headphones out.

Phil laughed. “Sorry, it was a chance I had to take.” He said.

Dan stuck his tongue out at him. “You’re such a jerk.” He said jokingly.

“Oh shut up,” Phil laughed again. “So, watcha doin’ over there?” He asked curiously.

“Well, I’m watching your videos and I think that they’re really good,” Dan said.

Phil rolled his eyes. “They’re not that good.” He mumbled.

“No, really!” Dan said as he watched Phil walk around the couch.

Phil sighed as he sat down on the couch, next to Dan.

“I like them. I’m not going to lie; I thought that it was kind of lame that you made Youtube videos at first when you told me about it, but now after watching some of your videos… I think it’s kind of cool and it does look really fun. So, how’s your filming going?”

Phil chuckled. “Fine. I just finished filming actually and thought I would take a break. I can edit later.” He said.

“Phil?” Dan asked as he looked over at him.

Phil looked over at him. “What’s up?” He asked calmly.

“What are we going to do about this?” Dan asked nervously.

Phil bit his lip. “Wh-What do you mean?” He asked.

“You told me that we couldn’t be together because of the age difference and then you said that you’d rather be with me when I brought up what I told Chris earlier,” Dan said. He took a deep breath, “I just… don’t understand what you want.”

Phil bit his lip as he stared at Dan for a few seconds. Obviously Phil wanted to be with Dan. He personally didn’t think that four years was much of a difference but he knew that people around them would think differently. Phil cared a lot about what others thought of him.

“Hey, we don’t have to think about that right now, alright?” Phil whispered. He sighed, “We have all the time in the world to think about this. I want you to make sure that this is what you really want. You have much more important things to worry about in your life right now. We can just think about this whole relationship thing later. But just know that I really do care about you. I really don’t want to rush you into a relationship.” Phil told him.

Dan smiled. “Thank you Phil. That really means a lot.” He whispered.


	6. Chapter 6

It was the next day that Dan decided to call up Chris and PJ. They decided to meet each other at the park. The park wasn’t usually that busy and thankfully, it wasn’t where a lot of kids from school went. Chris and PJ obviously would have preferred something that wasn’t so public but Dan made it clear to them that meeting them at the park was the only way he would meet up with them so they finally agreed to it. Even though Dan was still upset with Chris and PJ, he kind of missed them and he wanted to hang out with them again. He hoped they would be able to work something out with each other.

Dan was already at the park by 12 o'clock in the afternoon. He was sitting on a park bench, waiting for Chris and PJ.

“Dan?” Dan looked up and immediately stood up when he saw Chris and PJ.

“Uh, hey…” PJ greeted as he and Chris walked up to him.

Dan crossed his arms against his chest, remaining silent as he stared at his two friends.

“Okay, you have every right to be angry at us, even hate us…” PJ said.

Chris nodded in agreement. “But, we’re really sorry for how we treated you the past month. We shouldn’t have ignored you like that. We should have been there for you when you needed someone and clearly you needed someone.” Chris said. He sighed.

PJ bit his lip nervously as he looked at Dan and Chris back and forth.

“Please forgive us?” Chris begged. “We’ll never do anything stupid like that again. Promise!”

Dan stared at them for a few seconds. He sighed in defeat. “Fine. I forgive you.” He said.

PJ walked over to him and hugged him. Dan laughed and hugged him back. PJ pulled away a few seconds later.

“So, where were you yesterday? You didn’t show up for school, we were worried.” Chris said as he walked over to Dan.

“Oh, well, um…” Dan sat back down on the bench. He didn’t want to tell too much to Chris and PJ, because he knew that Phil wouldn’t appreciate it. “I had been planning on going to school but then Adam stopped me on the way to school and he… he almost beat me up and…”

Chris’s eyes went wide. “He actually beat you up?!” Chris yelled.

Dan rolled his eyes. “I said almost! He only punched me once but thankfully Phil came to the rescue and saved me.” He said.

“Phil? Wait a minute, that guy who babysat you?” PJ asked.

Dan glared at him. “He’s more than just the guy who babysat me, Peej!” He yelled.

PJ blinked a few times when Dan raised his voice. He sighed and then he sat down next to Dan.

Dan looked down at his hands. “Sorry for yelling,” he mumbled.

“I just really don’t think that it’s a good idea if you hang out with that guy. People will start to get suspicious. Besides, didn’t you say he was older than you? It wouldn’t be right and it would be just weird seeing you hanging out with an older guy.” PJ said.

“I hate to say this, but I agree with PJ, Dan.” Chris said.

Dan blinked a few times and looked over at PJ, ignoring Chris.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” PJ asked.

“No, stop right there. You’re overreacting, PJ. I mean… It’s not like we’re dating or anything.” Although it absolutely killed Dan to say that. Dan already had feelings for Phil and it was kind of obvious that he wanted to be with him. Dan had never had feelings like this for anyone else before. “We’re just friends, honestly. That’s all that we are. People are allowed to be just friends. You do know that, right?” Dan snapped as he looked over at PJ.

“Oh, okay then…” PJ said. He shrugged his shoulders.

“Sorry for snapping,” Dan mumbled. “I know what I’m doing, trust me. Phil’s only four years older than me. It’s not a big deal.”

“Really? He’s four years older than you?” PJ asked. He raised his eyebrows, “What’s he doing babysitting teenagers then?”

“Peej!” Dan hissed. He knew exactly what PJ was thinking and he wasn’t happy about it at all.

PJ threw his hands. “I’m just saying! It looks kind of suspicious to me.” He said.

“No, he’s not a pedophile or anything like that. Phil wasn’t expecting me to be a teenager. He’s trying to make a little extra money so he can move out of his parents’ house. Okay! No more questions. You guys already know more than you should about this.” Dan snapped.

“Just one more question…” PJ started to ask.

Dan rolled his eyes as he looked over at PJ. “What question?” He asked.

“Do you like this… Phil?” PJ asked curiously.

“Yeah. Of course I like him. He’s an amazing friend!” Dan exclaimed.

“I meant… Do you like him as more than a friend?” PJ asked, raising his eyebrows.

Dan frowned. “Why would you think that?” Dan asked.

PJ shrugged his shoulders. “Just the way you talk about him makes us think it.” He told him.

“No. I really don’t like him like that,” Dan lied. Dan already knew that he couldn’t tell Chris and PJ that he was kind of in love with Phil. He didn’t need any more rumors spreading around school. Dan already got enough from kids at school; making fun of him and beating him up because he had a babysitter. He already had plenty of bruises on his body and he didn’t need or want anymore. “Can we talk about something else please? This is awkward to talk about.”

“Oh, yeah, of course.” PJ said. He looked over at Chris.

Chris shrugged his shoulders. “So, what are we going to talk about now?” He asked, smiling.

“I know…” Dan began to say, “When are you two going to admit that you like each other?” He asked.

“What?” PJ asked as stood up from the bench. “What the hell are you talking about Dan?”

“I see the way you two talk to each other and look at you all the time.” Dan said.

“You’re fucking out of your mind, Dan,” Chris said. He shook his head. “We don’t like each other the way you think.”

Dan smirked as he looked at them back and forth. “Fine, whatever you say.” He said.

It’s been about an hour now since Dan had met up with Chris and PJ at the park, and they were still there. Dan had missed hanging out with Chris and PJ like this. He missed talking to them about everything and nothing and just generally goofing around with them. He was glad that he decided to meet up with them. He was thankful Phil convinced him to do this. It was like nothing had ever happened between them. They were back to being best friends with each other.

Dan and PJ were still sitting on the bench while Chris was sitting in front of them in the grass. Chris and PJ were currently in the middle of a random conversation. Dan immediately pulled out his phone when he felt it vibrate. PJ immediately stopped talking and looked over at him. Chris raised his eyebrows as he watched them. Dan smiled as he read the text he had gotten from Phil.

To: Dan

From: Phil

Hey! How’s everything going? Did you talk to Chris and PJ? Xx

To: Phil

From: Dan

Everything’s great! We’re just hanging out at the park now. I’ll talk to you later. x

“Who was that from?” PJ asked curiously. Dan jumped slightly.

“Oh, um…” Dan started to say. “It’s just… no one important,” He mumbled as he put his phone back into his pocket. He looked back over at PJ. Dan rolled his eyes as soon as he saw the look on PJ’s face. “Okay, do not look at me like that.” Dan warned.

PJ crossed his arms against his chest as he stared at Dan.

“Okay, so…Maybe it was Phil. Big deal? We’ve texted each other before. It’s not a crime to text your friends.” Dan snapped.

PJ sighed. “Dan, I really don’t think you should hang around that guy.” He said.

“What the hell is he going to do PJ? I spent a whole weekend with him, he didn’t try anything on me, and I’m still alive! He cares about me, and he’s the one who even saved me from Adam yesterday!” Dan yelled. He sighed in frustration and then he stood up from the bench.

PJ blinked a few times as he looked up at Dan. “Where are you going?” He asked. Chris immediately stood up from the ground.

“Stop worrying about me so much. I know how to take care of myself. I’m so fucking sick of people telling me what to do and treating me like a child,” Dan hissed. He started to walk away.

“Dan!” PJ yelled. He quickly stood up from the bench. He sighed as he watched Dan walk away. PJ looked over at Chris. “What the hell’s going on with him lately?” He asked, shaking his head. “Ever since he met that Phil guy, he’s totally changed.”

“I think that he’s in love.” Chris said.

PJ raised his eyebrows as he looked over at Chris. “What makes you say that?” He asked.

“Well, clearly something happened that weekend Dan spent with Phil but Dan obviously doesn’t want to admit it or tell us about,” Chris said. He sighed and shook his head, looking over at PJ.

PJ chuckled. “Clearly it’s not that obvious since I couldn’t tell.” PJ said.

Dan had immediately gone home after he walked away from Chris and PJ. Dan was extremely upset. He was tired of people treating him like a child. He wasn’t a child. Dan was 15 years old. He knew how to do things and take care of himself. Dan could make his own decisions and he knew what was best for himself. Phil was a nice person and he was the only one that cared about Dan the way he did. Dan knew that Phil didn’t mean any harm to him.

Dan sighed as he walked into the house. He shut the door behind him. He started to walk up the stairs.

“Daniel!” Dan immediately stopped as soon as he heard his mom yelling for him. Dan groaned and walked back down the stairs.

“This can’t be good. I wonder what I got in trouble for this time,” He mumbled. Dan walked down the hallway and made his way into the kitchen. He looked up and blinked a few times when he saw his mom and dad sitting at the kitchen table and they didn’t look very happy either. This worried Dan. “I didn’t do anything wrong.” Dan said before they could say anything.

“But, I think you did do something wrong,” Diane said.

“You didn’t go to school yesterday.” John said.

Dan groaned. “You found out about that?” He asked nervously.

“Yes, we found out about that. The school called us. We warned you about skipping school before.” John snapped.

“You know… it’s funny how you only ever bother to talk to me when I get in trouble.” Dan snapped.

“Dan,” Diane warned. “You have to go to school. You’ve just missed three days of school because you said you were sick…”

Dan crossed his arms against his chest. “Why should I go to school? School is hell for me, it’s actual hell.” Dan said.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad, you’re overreacting,” John said.

Dan scoffed and shook his head, completely frustrated and annoyed at his parents. “Oh yeah? How would you know if it’s bad for me or not?” He asked. “You don’t know what goes on at school because you don’t even pay attention to me, and you don’t care about me at all.”

“Dan, that’s not true, we do care about you,” Diane said.

Dan shook his head. “No, you don’t. Don’t even act like you do. You only care about you precious little angel, Adrian!” Dan snapped. “I hate being in this house. I hate this family. I hate school. I hate being treated like a child!” Dan yelled. He took a deep breath as his eyes began to water up. “I don’t even want to be here anymore.” Dan mumbled. He turned around and stormed out of the kitchen without saying another word. He bumped into Adrian on his way out.

Adrian raised his eyebrows when he looked up at Dan and saw the look on his face. Dan hadn’t properly spoken to Adrian in weeks but that didn’t stop Adrian from talking to him and being the annoying little brother that he was. Dan pushed him aside before he could say anything and stormed up the stairs. Dan immediately ran to his bedroom. He slammed the door shut once and locked it. He sat down on his bed. He pulled out his phone and called Phil.

“Hello?” Phil asked when he finally answered his hone.

Dan bit his lip as a few tears fell out of his eyes. “Ph-Phil?” Dan asked. He took a deep breath. “Can you come pick me up?”

“Of course I can. Is everything okay?” Phil asked nervously.

“No,” Dan mumbled. “I just don’t want to be here anymore. Please come get me?”

“Yes, of course. Don’t worry about anything. I’ll come and get you as soon as I can. Give me 15 minutes and I’ll be there,” Phil said. Dan hung up on him. Phil was most definitely the only person he wanted to see. He didn’t care about his supposed-to-be friends or his family. He just cared about Phil. Phil was the only person that cared about him and wanted to make sure that he was happy at all times. That’s what Dan loved the most about him.


	7. Chapter 7

15 minutes later; Phil finally arrived at Dan’s house. He was sitting in the driveway and was waiting for Dan to come out. He couldn’t help but be a little nervous as Dan sounded quite upset on the phone. He’s heard Dan be upset before, but never like he was on the phone.

Phil looked up and smiled as soon as he saw Dan walking out of the house but frowned as soon as he saw that Dan was holding a bag in his hand, which worried him a little. Dan turned around and walked off the porch. He walked over to Phil’s car and got in. He sighed as he shut the door.

Dan looked over at Phil and bit his lip nervously. “I’m sorry for calling you like this. I hope you weren’t busy or anything.” He said apologetically.

Phil shook his head. “I was just editing a video but it can wait. You’re much more important to me.” He whispered.

Dan blushed. “I-I would have called Chris and PJ but we kind of got into another argument today at the park and I’m not ready to talk to them again yet.”

“What? Really? You got into an argument with Chris and PJ?” Phil asked, a little confused at what exactly was going on. “I thought you said that you worked everything out with them earlier? You seemed pretty happy when you sent me that text earlier. What happened?”

“I was happy in the beginning. We were talking just fine but then PJ had to go and assume that we were dating and he had to make a big deal out of everything and I just got annoyed with him and I had to leave. They were being annoyed.” Dan snapped.

Phil immediately turned and looked at Dan, eyes wide. “Wait a minute, they think that we’re dating each other?” Dan nodded. Phil blinked a few times. “Well, um, does anybody else think this?” He asked nervously as he stared at Dan.

“I don’t really know what anybody else thinks about us and to be honest, I don’t really care what anybody else thinks and neither should you. But, Chris and PJ are my friends and I care about what they think,” Dan said.

“I do care about what other people think, Dan!” Phil yelled.

Dan stared at him with shock. Dan had only known him for a month or so but in the time he had gotten to know him, Phil never raised his voice. He didn’t yell or shout. He was usually calmed and laid back, which was one of the many things Dan loved the most about him.

“I actually do care what other people think about me, Dan.” Phil snapped.

Dan took a deep breath and shook his head. “You know what; I think maybe it was a mistake calling you,” He whispered, shaking his head. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll just find somewhere else to stay. Maybe if I call Chris or PJ and talk to them then they’ll let me stay with them,” Dan said as his eyes began to water up. Dan started to open the car door and was about to step out but Phil quickly reached over and grabbed Dan’s arm. Dan immediately looked over at him. Dan stared at him with wide eyes. “You told me that you wouldn’t be ashamed if people saw us together.”

“No, I said that I wouldn’t be ashamed if mum and dad saw us together.” Phil corrected him.

“What’s the difference?” Dan asked, blinking a few times.

Phil sighed and shook his head. “There’s a huge difference, Dan…” He said.

Dan rolled his eyes. “Doesn’t matter. Maybe we shouldn’t hang out together if you’re too scared about what people would think of us. It’s like I said before, I’ll be able to handle us being friends and everything but I’m not going to hide who I am just because you’re afraid of what other people will think of us.” Dan snapped. He sighed, “You need to relax and not think about other people. I get it, honestly. I get why you may be afraid but fuck other people. Live your life how you want to. You shouldn’t have to be constantly worried about what other people think of you.” Dan said.

Phil stared at him with shock. “Wow… I’m impressed, Dan,” He whispered.

Dan smirked when he saw the look on Phil face. “See, I’m not just some stupid teenager.” He told him.

Phil frowned. “I never said you were a stupid teenager. I just said you were too young for me,” he said.

“But, I’m not!” Dan yelled. “Sure, I do stupid things sometimes and maybe I’m not that bright but I know what I’m doing with my life and I wish that you would see that I am mature enough for this relationship. I don’t know what else I can do to prove that to you…” Dan said.

Phil sighed and nodded. “I just don’t want you to have to hide your first relationship.” He said.

“I don’t mind hiding though. I would do anything Just as long as I’m with you.” Dan whispered.

“Um, maybe we should talk about this at my house and not in your driveway.” Phil suggested.

“Yeah. You’re probably right, actually…” Dan agreed.

Phil laughed, and then he pulled out of Dan’s driveway and they immediately went to Phil’s house.

“Are your parents not home?” Dan asked as they walked into the house.

Phil looked over at him as he shut the door. “They’re at work. They usually work late.” He said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Oh,” Dan said. He bit his lip nervously as he looked around.

Phil raised his eyebrows. “Come on, we’ll go to my bedroom.” He said.

Dan blushed as he followed Phil to his bedroom. Phil shut his bedroom door once they were in. Dan had never really properly been in Phil’s bedroom before, even though they’ve spent time together at Phil’s house. Dan looked around and smiled when he saw Phil had multiple posters on his wall of the bands he liked and even some anime posters. Phil basically liked everything that Dan liked which was even cooler.

“I see you’re a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer then?” Dan asked as he looked over at Phil.

“Slightly,” Phil replied, smiling innocently. “Huge Buffy fan.”

Dan laughed. “I can tell by the many posters of Sarah Michelle Gellar on your wall.” He said.

“Anyways… so, this is where the magic… doesn’t really happy, unfortunately…” Phil said.

“I like your bedroom.” Dan said as he continued to look around at all the different posters.

Phil looked over at Dan and smiled slightly. “Have a seat then, Dan. You don’t have to just stand there.” He chuckled to himself.

Dan walked over to the bed and then he finally sat down. Phil also sat down on the bed. He looked over at Dan and couldn’t help but frown when he saw the look on his face. Dan still looked upset and all Phil wanted to do was to make him happy again.

“Dan…” He began to say. He took a deep breath before he crawled over to him. Dan still didn’t look up at him. “I’m not gonna lie and say that I don’t have feelings for you, okay? I do have feelings for you and I would absolutely love to be in a relationship with you,” Phil whispered. “It’s just… this is a very risky relationship. I’m four years older than you. People aren’t going to think very highly of a relationship like this, they’re not going to like seeing us together, not to mention we’re both gay… and you know how people are around this town about gay people. A lot are against it.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “Phil, I don’t care about what other people think…”

“Dan, I’m being serious. I want to make sure that this is something that you really want, okay?” Phil said.

Dan looked at him again. “Phil, trust me…I’ve had plenty of time to think about whether I want this relationship or not. We clicked the first day that we met each other and that’s never happened to me before. Maybe I’m rushing into something but I know what I want and I want to be with you.” He whispered.

“Well, of course I care about you, Dan,” Phil whispered. He reached over and grabbed a hold of Dan and gently pulled him closer to him.

Dan shrugged his shoulders slightly, not saying anything.

Phil frowned. “Dan, people do care about you… whether you want to believe it or not. I care about you. Your parents care about you. Chris and PJ care about you. You just don’t see it and I’m not sure why.” Phil sighed as he stared at him. “You are loved and cared about.” He said.

Dan sighed and shook his head. “I don’t really care about them.” He mumbled.

“You should. One day you might not have them anymore.” Phil said.

“This is getting way too deep.” Dan said.

Phil laughed at him. “Yeah, you’re right,” He said before he let out a sigh.

“So, what are you trying to tell me here?” Dan asked.

Phil looked over at him. “What do you mean?” He asked.

“Do you want to be with me, or not? I really want this, Phil. I want to be with you. I just need to know if you want to be with me,” Dan whispered.

It went silent for a few seconds after Dan had said that.

Dan sighed as he looked away from Phil again.

“I do!” Phil exclaimed, finally breaking the silence.

Dan immediately looked over at him. “What?” He asked with shock.

“I do, I really do want to be with you, Dan,” Phil whispered.

“What? Oh my God, Phil! Are you actually being serious right now? Really?” Dan asked, smiling. “Y-You really want to be with my relationship with me?”

“I know it’s going to be hard at first but… it’ll be worth it because I get to be with you.” Phil said.

“I can’t believe this is finally happening.” Dan said. He took a deep breath.

“Yeah, well, you better believe it because it is happening.” Phil whispered.

Dan sighed in relief. “You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that,” he said. He flung his arms around Phil and hugged him tightly. Phil laughed as Dan made Phil fall down on his back. He wrapped his arms around Dan and pulled him closer to him. Dan bit his lip as he stared down at Phil. Phil stared right back at him, smiling as he did so. He took a deep breath before he pulled Dan down to him and kissed him. Dan immediately kissed him back.

Dan had been waiting to be able to kiss Phil back ever since they first kissed. He was so happy that Phil had said that he finally wanted to be with him.

Dan and Phil kissed each other for a few seconds, not letting go of each other as they kissed. Phil finally pulled away from the kiss, taking deep breaths. He looked up at Dan again and couldn’t help but smile at him. “That was… amazing.” Phil whispered.

Dan couldn’t help but smile. “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this?”

Phil chuckled. “I can imagine a long time, yeah?”

Dan nodded. “I promise you won’t regret making this decision.” He promised.

“I know,” Phil said, nodding. “You said that you’re mature enough for this relationship, and I believe you. You’re not just some stupid teenager, that’s for sure.”

Dan blushed. “I mean… I do stupid things every once in a while…” He said.

Phil laughed and shook his head. He cupped Dan’s face in his hands and pulled him down for another kiss. Dan smiled as he kissed Phil back. It felt so good for him to be able to kiss Phil again. It had been at least a month since they’ve kissed, which had been their first kiss together. This was better though.

Phil pushed himself back so that they were both lying on the bed. He gently pulled Dan down so that he was now lying on top of him. Phil was usually top, he hated being bottom, but Dan was so small and fragile, and the last thing Phil wanted to do was to hurt him or pressure him into doing something that he didn’t want to do. He wanted to make sure that he was okay. “Dan, wait…” Phil moaned into the kiss. He pulled away again.

Dan pouted. “Phil!” He whined. “Why do you keep stopping?”

Phil looked up at him and sighed. “Sh-Should we be doing this now? Have you ever even done something like this before?” He asked nervously. “I know that you hate it when I say it but you are still very young, Dan. I want to make sure that you really want to do this with me.” Phil said.

“No, I’ve never done this before,” Dan admitted. He shrugged his shoulders. “But, there’s a first time for everything.”

Phil rolled his eyes playfully. “Clearly.” He said jokingly.

Dan giggled. “I’ll be fine Phil,” He assured him. “Stop worrying so much about me, mum.”

“Hey!” Phil yelled, pouting. He pushed him playfully.

Dan laughed at him. He leaned down and pressed his lips against Phil’s. Phil smiled and kissed him back.

Although, Phil was still worried about Dan, he wasn’t going to say anything. Dan was right… he could take care of himself. He would be fine. Phil was always the protective type. But, Dan was still young. Phil just couldn’t help himself sometimes. He wanted what was right for Dan, and he wanted him to be happy.


	8. Chapter 8

Dan blinked a few times as his eyes fluttered open. He looked up and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. He looked around and was a little confused. This definitely wasn’t his bedroom and he had pretty much forgotten where he was.

“Good morning,” Dan looked over and smiled as soon as he saw Phil, and then he remembered everything from last night.

“Mm. Morning,” Dan said, yawning. “What time is it?” He asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“12 o'clock in the afternoon. I let you sleep in, figured you deserved it, we went to bed pretty late last night,” Phil said. He reached over and then he leaned down and pressed his lips against Dan’s and kissed him a few times. He looked down at Dan and smiled when he saw the look on Dan’s face. “How are you feeling today?” Phil asked. He watched as Dan pushed himself up on his elbows and then Dan looked over at him and smiled.

“I could definitely get used to being woken up like this.” Dan said.

Phil laughed. “Don’t get too used to it. You have to go home eventually.” He said.

Dan groaned and shook his head. He sat fully up. “I am so not looking forward to going home.” He mumbled.

“You have to talk to your parents, Dan,” Phil said. “I know you don’t want to but…”

“Talk to them about what? About us?” Dan asked with shock.

“No! Not about that. I just hate seeing you so upset all the time. You gotta figure something out with your parents.” Phil said.

“I’ve already tried to talk to them and they don’t want to listen to me. There’s no point in even trying Phil.” Dan mumbled.

“We’ll figure something out, I promise.” Phil whispered.

Dan looked over at him and took a deep breath. “I appreciate you for caring. I really do.” He whispered.

Phil smiled. “So, what do you want to do today?” He asked.

“Well, I mean… there’s not really much that we can do. We agreed that we would hide our relationship.” Dan said.

“We can still go out in public and stuff. We just can’t hold hands or hug or kiss and do couple things,” Phil said. He shrugged his shoulders. “We can go get some coffee if you want and then hang out at the park for a couple of hours while the sun is actually out.” He suggested.

“Yeah, okay… that sounds really nice,” Dan said, smiling.

“Okay, let’s get ready and hang out then.” Phil told him.

Dan nodded. “Yes sir,” he said. He reached over and kissed Phil again. He sighed happily, “I love being able to kiss you.” He said.

Phil laughed as he watched Dan stand up from the bed and walk out of the bedroom.

An hour later; Dan and Phil had finally left Phil’s house and they were already waiting to get their coffee at Starbucks.

“Dan?” Dan looked over and sighed when he saw Chris and PJ.

“Fuck,” Dan whispered. He bit his lip as he looked over at Phil. “Hey, can you get my coffee?”

“Yeah, sure. What do you want?” Phil asked calmly.

“Um, just get me whatever you’re having,” Dan told him. He turned around and walked towards Chris and PJ.

“What are you two doing here?” Dan asked as he walked up to Chris and PJ.

“God, are you in a bad mood today or something?” PJ asked, crossing his arms against his chest.

“No but I’m still upset with you two for how you acted the other day,” Dan said. “Look, what do you want? Me and Phil have plans…” Dan rolled his eyes as soon as he saw the look on PJ’s face. “Don’t even say anything about him. We’re just friends!” He lied. Dan knew that he definitely could not tell Chris and PJ that he was dating Phil because they would be against it, and they would try to talk him out of being with Phil. “I have to go.” Dan went to turn around but he stopped when PJ grabbed him and pulled him back. Dan sighed as he looked over at him. “What?” Dan asked.

“I’m sorry, okay?” PJ said. He took a deep breath, “I don’t know.. I just… I just don’t want you to get hurt,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, we’re only looking out for you Dan. It’s the least we could do after how we treated you before.” Chris said.

“I appreciate that guys. I really do!” Dan said. He sighed. “But, Phil is my friend and I know that he cares about me so I’m going to hang out with him whether you like it or not,” He said. “Um… can we maybe talk later? Hang out sometime this week?” Dan asked hopefully.

PJ nodded. “Yeah, just text one of us when you wanna hang out.” He said.

“I will. See you guys later,” He said. He turned around and then he started walking back towards Phil. He glanced over and watched as Chris and PJ walked out of Starbucks. He frowned when he saw PJ grab Chris’s hand as they walked. Dan couldn’t help but feel jealous of them. Sure, they were a gay couple but they could still walk around and hold hands whenever they wanted. Dan couldn’t do that with Phil in public.

Dan sighed and shook his head. He finally walked back over to Phil. “Hey,” Dan said.

Phil looked over and smiled when he saw Dan. “Hey,” He replied. “What was that all about?”

“Nothing important. They just wanted to hang out later,” Dan lied. He hated lying to Phil, even if it was just a little lie, but he really didn’t want to worry Phil about what Chris and PJ thought of him. He didn’t want Phil to know that Chris and PJ thought that he was a pedophile.

“You can hang out with them if you want. I don’t mind.” Phil told him.

Dan quickly shook his head. “No, it’s fine. Honestly, I want to hang out with you today. I just told them that I’d hang out with them later this week or something so they aren’t that upset with me.” He said. He looked up at Phil and smiled.

Phil chuckled and shook his head. “Okay then, whatever you say.” He said.

Dan smiled as he looked up at Phil. He deeply wished that he could just reach over and grab Phil’s hand but he knew that couldn’t and that frustrated him. He still didn’t want to say anything to Phil though because he agreed that hiding their relationship would be for the best and he was going to stick to his word.

Dan and Phil finally had gotten their coffees and were now walking into the park. Dan was smiling as he walked next to Phil while they walked into the park. He looked around for a few seconds then he spotted a couple teenagers from his school, which didn’t bother him, that was until he spotted Adam in the group and he started to panic. Adam was the one who always made his life a living hell.

Dan immediately stopped walking as he watched Adam carefully.

Phil looked over when Dan stopped walking and frowned when he saw the look on Dan’s face. “Hey, Dan? Are you okay?” Phil asked calmly. He immediately walked over to him. “What’s wrong?” The look on Dan’s face absolutely worried him.

Dan started breathing hard. He quickly shook his head. “I can’t be here right now, I want to go home.” He said. He went to turn around to run but Phil quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him back before he had the chance to run away from him.

“Hey, what’s going on? Relax, okay? Everything’s fine,” Phil said.

“Phil, please,” Dan begged. He took a deep breath. “I don’t want to be here anymore.” He mumbled.

“What’s bothering you?” Phil asked as he kept a hold of Dan.

“He’s here.” Dan said as his eyes began to water up.

“Who is here Dan?” Phil asked as he stared at Dan. He then looked over and sighed when he saw a group of teenagers by the swing sets, and he also noticed that Adam was one of the teenagers there. Phil hadn’t forgotten Adam. He knew exactly who he was and why Dan was so afraid of him and Phil wasn’t about to let Adam hurt Dan again. Adam glanced over and smirked as soon as he saw Dan, and then he looked over and froze when he saw Phil next to him. Phil glared at Adam as soon as he saw that he was staring at Dan. Adam immediately looked away from him and Phil looked back over at Dan. “Hey, you’re okay,”

“No, you don’t understand Phil! You don’t know what he can do…” Dan said.

“I don’t care about what he can and can’t do, okay? All I care about is making sure you’re safe and happy.” Phil said.

“I’m not safe at all here. He’s going to see me and he’s going to…” Dan began to say.

Phil shook his head. “No, he’s not going to do anything because I won’t let him.” He whispered.

“I’m sorry.” Dan whispered as a tear slipped out of his eye.

Phil frowned. “What are you saying sorry for?” He asked calmly.

“I’m sorry for being such a wimp,” Dan snapped. He sighed. “I just…”

“Don’t apologize. You’re not a wimp, Dan. You’ve just been through a lot and I don’t blame you for being scared. But, you should be able to go wherever you want to go without worrying about someone beating you up, okay?” Phil said.

“Okay,” Dan whispered. He slowly nodded. “Thank you Phil.”

Phil smiled. He reached over and whipped away a tear that slipped out of Dan’s eye. “Let’s forget about that jerk, okay? Let’s go sit on a bench and enjoy the sunshine while we can because it’ll probably be gone by tomorrow, knowing the weather in London.” Phil said.

“Okay.” Dan said, more calmer, he looked up at Phil and smiled.

“That’s more like it.” Phil said. He wished that he could wrap his arms around Dan and hug him. But, he knew that he couldn’t.


	9. Chapter 9

“Mum?” Dan asked nervously as he walked into the kitchen, on a Friday evening.

It had been a couple months now since Dan and Phil had started dating and so far, everything was going smoothly and they were actually happy together and loved being together. Phil was finally getting over the whole ‘age gap’ thing. He didn’t really care that Dan was four years younger than him, which made Dan very happy because now they could be together and be happy without worrying about what other people thought about them.

Dan and Phil tried to see each other as much as possible but they didn’t want to see each other too much because then people would start to get suspicious and that was the last thing they wanted. But, now that it’s been five months since they started dating… they were starting to get annoyed with hiding their relationship. They wanted to slowly start letting people know they were dating. So, Dan was starting off with hinting at his parents that he was dating Phil.

“What do you want Daniel?” Diane asked. She turned around and looked at him.

“You remember how you got me that babysitter a couple months ago?” Dan asked calmly.

“Yes, of course I remember. Why are you bringing this up now?” Diane asked.

“I was just wondering if you liked him, the guy who babysat me…?”

“I-I don’t know. It was so long ago and I don’t really remember him. I only talked to him on the phone for about 10 minutes. But, he seemed like a real lovely guy when I talked to him and then we only met him a few minutes when we came home. It seemed like he did a good job babysitting you as you haven’t caused too much trouble ever since you met that kid,” Diane said. She sighed, “don’t tell your father I said that,” she warned, smiling slightly.

Dan couldn’t help but smile. “So, would you be okay if I hung out with him?” He asked.

“Why would you want to hang out with him? I know for a fact that he is older than you.” Diane said.

“He’s only four years older than me. He’s still a teenager too!” Dan exclaimed. He bit his lip nervously.

“Watch your tone, Daniel.” Diane warned. She shook her head, “I don’t know. I would have to meet him again and make sure that he’s okay for you to be hanging around. I don’t want my son to be hanging around older men that I don’t know about.”

“Can you meet him tomorrow? I can call him and he can come over so you can meet him.” Dan suggested.

“Wait a minute…” Diane looked over at Dan again. “Have you been talking to this boy before?” She asked.

“N-Not a whole lot. He gave me his number when he babysat me just in case. We talk every once in a while.” Dan lied.

“Fine. He can come over tomorrow and we’ll meet him,” Diane said. “Is there anything else?”

“A-Actually… there is one more thing I wanted to tell you,” Dan mumbled. He took a deep breath. “I’m gay.”

“You’re what?” Diane asked as her eyes went wide with shock.

Dan took a deep breath. “I’m gay…” He said louder.

“Since when?” Diane asked, still shocked. “You never said anything about this before…”

“Because I was afraid that you would hate me… I know a lot of people in this town are against gay people. And, I feel like you already hate me for the amount of times that I’ve gotten in trouble. I didn’t want to make you more ashamed of me so I never said anything about it,” Dan mumbled.

“Daniel, we’re not ashamed of you.” Diane whispered.

“You’re not ashamed of me? Really?” Dan asked nervously, a little surprised.

“We could never be ashamed if you… I mean… sure, you can be a pain in the ass sometimes… but we have never been ashamed of you. We’ve never said it before but we do love you very much, and we do care about you.” Diane told him.

Dan looked up at her with shock. He had never heard his parents say that to him before, not in years. It made him feel relieved and he was happy. He had been so worried that his parents hated him all these years. “Wow… you do?” Dan asked.

“Of course we do. Gay or not, you’re still our son and we’ll support you.” Diane said.

Dan smiled. “Thank you mum,” He whispered. He sighed in relief. “I-I have to go call Phil…”

“Okay, you go do that.” Diane said. She sighed as she watched Dan run out of the kitchen.

“Okay, I’ll let you know what Phil says about tomorrow…” Dan told her.

Dan immediately ran up to his bedroom. He shut the door as soon as he reached his bedroom and then he locked the door, just in case. He looked around for his phone and then spotted it on the bed. He just couldn’t wait to tell Phil about what had just happened. Dan had actually had a normal conversation with his mom, without either of them getting in an argument with each other. She had even told Dan that she loved him which meant a lot to Dan even though he hadn’t really shown it. Dan took a deep breath as he sat down on his bed. He grabbed his phone and then he called Phil.

“Hey love,” Phil greeted when he answered his phone.

Dan smiled. “You’ll never guess what just happened!” He yelled excitedly.

“Oh, God, um… hello to you too.” Phil said, laughing.

Dan rolled his eyes playfully and laughed. “Phil, this is serious. I just talked to my mum and it was a real conversation and there was no yelling and I’m pretty sure she smiled at least once and she made a joke and then she even told me that she did love me even if I was gay and I just had to tell you right away!”

“What? That’s amazing, Dan! I told you that she would come around eventually.” Phil said.

“I also asked her about you and she said that she would be okay with meeting you tomorrow. She doesn’t remember much about you but she said that you must have been a pretty good babysitter since I haven’t gotten into much trouble since I met you,” Dan sighed happily, “Also, she doesn’t know that we’ve been hanging out for five months. I told her that I’ve only talked to you a few times. I figured that it’d be safer because she knows that you’re older than me.”

“Yeah, I would have done the same thing if I were you, considering she said that she didn’t remember much about me.” Phil said. He chuckled. “Well, I’m totally okay with coming over tomorrow if that’s what you want, I’m just a little nervous. I don’t want your parents to hate me.”

Dan laughed. “They’re not gonna hate you! If anything, they’re going to love you.” He said.

“Dan, I’m being serious. This is a big deal for us. We need your parents to like me because if they don't… then they won’t want us to be together and it’ll break my heart if I lose you and I can’t lose you after everything that we’ve been through together.” Phil said.

“You’re not going to lose me. I won’t let that happen.” Dan whispered.

“I just hate that you’re going through this at such a young age. You shouldn’t have to…” Phil began to say.

“Phil, stop it! We already talked about this. I don’t care that we have to hide our relationship. I would do anything to be able to be with you. Our relationship is important to me and you know that, you know that I would do anything to be with you.” Dan said.

“Alright, alright. I just can’t help it sometimes. I care about you and I don’t want to see you get hurt.” Phil said.

“I’ll be absolutely fine as long as I’m with you. That’s all I care about right now, our relationship…” Dan told him. He sighed and shook his head.

Tomorrow came quicker than Dan thought that it would.

He was extremely nervous about introducing Phil to his parents. Of course, they met before but that was nearly five months ago. They probably didn’t even remember what Phil looked like. But, Dan knew that he had to remain calm and positive or else this wasn’t going to work and he wouldn’t be able to see Phil. The thought of not being able to be with Phil hurt Dan so he needed this to work. Phil was so important him and Phil had helped him through so much.

It was around 7 o'clock by the time Phil had arrived at Dan’s house, the next day.

Dan had been waiting patiently all day for this time to come and now it was finally happening.

“Hey,” Dan greeted as he opened the door, revealing a rather nervous Phil. Dan reached over and kissed Phil once on the lips before letting him inside. “Are you just as nervous as I am,” Dan whispered as he looked over at Phil, as he shut the door behind him. Dan was extremely nervous and he knew that Phil was too. He just hoped and prayed that everything would go as plan and that his parents would like Phil. That’s the only thing he cared about at the moment. Though, he was 100% positive that his parents were going to absolutely love Phil just for who he was. How could they not?

“Yeah,” Phil said. He took a deep breath. “But I’m sure everything will be fine.”

“Who’s this?” Dan immediately looked over and sighed when he saw Adrian on the stairs.

“A friend. Can you go away now?” Dan asked, crossing his arms against his chest.

“A friend, huh?” Adrian asked, crossing his arms against his chest as he stared at Dan. “I don’t know because… I’m pretty sure that friends don’t greet each other at the door by kiss them, looks more like boyfriends to me.” He said, smirking.

Dan rolled his eyes. “Can you just go and not say anything to mum and dad? This is important to us.” He hissed.

“What’s in it for me if I keep quiet?” Adrian asked curiously.

“I-I don’t know… I’ll give you 20 bucks or something when all of this is over. Just don’t say anything to mum and dad. They don’t know about me and Phil and we need to keep it that way. I want to tell them in the right way,” Dan whispered.

“Why can’t you just tell them that you have a boyfriend? They already know that you’re gay…” Adrian said.

Dan sighed. “Because Phil is older than me and I’m afraid they won’t let us be together if they find out. Mum and dad already know who Phil is. They only know that he’s the one who babysat me a few months ago…” He began to say.

“Whoa! You’re that guy?” Adrian asked as he looked over at Phil.

“Yes, I’m that guy.” Phil said. He looked over at Dan and smiled.

“Please promise me that you’ll keep quiet?” Dan asked. “This is important to me, and I’ll do anything.

Adrian sighed and nodded. "Fine. I guess it’s the least I could do after I started that rumor.” He said.

“Yeah, you basically owe me.” Dan said, smiling a little bit.

“Whatever. I still want my 20 bucks though!” Adrian shouted before he turned around and ran up the stairs.

Dan sighed and shook his head. He looked over at Phil. “Do you see what I have to deal with every day?” He asked.

Phil laughed and shook his head. “Well, at least he promised to keep quiet.” He said.

“Yeah, let’s go find my parents…” Dan mumbled. He grabbed Phil’s arm and then they went into the living room, where Dan’s parents were already sitting on the couch. Dan took a deep breath as soon as saw them. “Hey, mum and dad…”

They both looked over and stood up as soon as they saw Dan wasn’t alone.

“Oh, hello Dan. Who’s this?” Diane asked as she looked over at Phil.

“I’m assuming this is Phil, the one you were telling us about…” John said.

Dan nodded. “Yeah, this is Phil. You met him before but it was a couple of months ago when you had him babysit me, and mum said that you would have to meet him again to make sure that it was okay to hang out with him since he was a little older than me. So, this is him. Phil Lester,” Dan explained. He took a deep breath. He hated that he rambled on whenever he was nervous but he couldn’t help it. He was terrified that something would go wrong.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you… again.” Diane said.

Phil shook hands with Dan’s parents. “It’s nice to meet you too.” He said calmly.

“So, how old are you again?” John asked as he looked at Phil.

“I’m 19 years old, sir. 20 in a couple of months.” Phil told him nervously.

“And do you do anything? Do you have a job?” Diane asked.

“Mum, please.” Dan groaned. He shook his head.

“No, its fine, Dan…” Phil assured him. He took a deep breath. “Well… my main job is making videos for Youtube. I’m a vlogger” He explained.

“You’re a what? You make videos and put them on the internet?” John asked.

“I totally understand why you’re nervous but it’s not what you think. They’re just videos I make where I talk about my life and share interests with people who want to know about them. It’s not much but I love doing what I do.” Phil explained.

“Do you even make money from that?” Diane asked curiously.

“Well, it’s n-not a lot but it’s enough to keep my going. I’m trying to save up to move out of my parents’ house. I want to buy an apartment so I can start living on my own.” Phil told them. He shrugged his shoulders.

“So, why were you babysitting if you already had another job?” John asked.

“I just wanted to make a little extra money. I’m quite good with kids so it’s pretty easy for me.” Phil said, nodding.

“Well, it’s good that you want to start living on your own, most teenagers don’t want to do that…” Diane said.

Phil nodded. “Yeah, I think it’ll just be better for me if I did go on my own.” He said.

“So, what do you think? Would it be okay if I hung out with Phil?” Dan asked hopefully.

“I just have one more question…” John began to say.

Dan groaned. “Oh no. Here we go.” He mumbled.

“Are you gay as well?” John asked as he stared at Phil.

“Dad! You can’t just ask that!” Dan yelled with shock as his eyes went wide. He shook his head and then he immediately looked over at Phil. “You don’t have to answer that, it’s personal.” He whispered.

“No, it’s fine. I’m open about it and yes… I am gay.” Phil said.

“I was just wondering. You and Dan seem quite close. Dan told me that you’ve only been talking a few times since you babysat him. But, I have a small feeling that Dan was lying about that. It’s not the first time he lied. Dan, is there something else that you want to your father and I? Something about you and Phil?” Diane asked as she crossed her arms against her chest, not taking her eyes away from Dan. “Well?” Diane asked, when Dan didn’t say anything.

“We’re dating, okay?!” Dan yelled, taking deep breaths.

“Dan!” Phil hissed. His eyes went wide with shock.

“Me and Phil are dating, okay! Is that what you wanted to hear?” Dan asked as his eyes began to water up. He quickly turned around and ran out of the living room before anyone could say anything else.

“Dan, wait!” Phil yelled. He immediately followed him.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tumblr user 'ohsophan' wrote the smut for me in this chapter!

“Dan, wait!” Phil yelled as he followed Dan up the stairs. Dan ran into his bedroom and was about to slam the door shut but was stopped by Phil. “Dan, please…” Phil begged as he stared at him.

Dan looked up at him as tears fell out of his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it. I just…”

“Come here,” Phil whispered. He wrapped his arms around Dan and pulled him closer.

Dan hid his face in Phil’s chest as tears continued to fall out of his eyes.

“I’m not mad at you,” Phil whispered. “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“What am I supposed to say to mum and dad now?” Dan asked as more tears fell out of his eyes.

“Hey, we’ll figure something out, okay? We’ll talk to them.” Phil assured him.

Dan shook his head. “I don’t want to talk to them. Not right now.” He said.

“Come on, let’s go lay down for a second, okay?” Phil wrapped his arms around Dan and they walked over to Dan’s bed. They both got onto the bed and sat down next to each other, Phil keeping his arms still around Dan, too afraid to let go of him.

“Mum and dad are never ever going to let me see you after that. Oh my God, I’m such an idiot.” Dan whispered.

“I’m not letting anybody take you away from me, do you understand me?” Phil said.

“How do you know that? Someone could very easily tear us apart.” Dan mumbled.

“Not if we don’t let them. We have to stay strong, Dan. Okay? We’ve only been together a few months but these few months have been the best months of my life. I’ve never met anybody like you before and I really love having you around. You know how to make me feel better when nobody else does,” Phil whispered. “Who cares about what your parents say?”

“But, they’re my parents, Phil! I have to do what they say.” Dan said, looking up at him.

“You’ve gone basically your whole life not listening to them. Why start now?” Phil asked.

“Because this is different,” Dan mumbled. “I’m only 15 years old and you’re four years older than me. It’s basically illegal and if my parents say that I can’t be with you then I can’t. I don’t want to risk anything bad happening to you. You could go to jail!” He yelled with wide eyes. He looked over at Phil with watery eyes. “I’d rather just see you as friends than you have you go to jail and not being able to see you at all.” He took a deep breath.

“Dan, take a deep breath and relax, alright?” Phil whispered.

Dan immediately looked over at his bedside table when he heard his phone go off. He reached over and grabbed it, sighing when he saw that Chris was calling him. Chris was the last person that he wanted to talk to at the moment.

“What do you want Chris?” Dan asked when he answered his phone.

“Fuck, why do you always sound so angry whenever me or PJ tries to talk to you?” Chris asked with annoyance.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. There’s just a lot going on at home right now.” Dan said calmer.

“Really? Do you want to come over to mine or something?” Chris asked.

“I will if it gets too bad but right now I’m with Phil so I’m okay.” Dan said.

“You’re with Phil? I thought you stopped talking to him ages ago?” Chris asked.

“I only told you that so you and PJ would shut up about him. Jesus, I mean… you talk about him more than I do.” Dan said.

Phil raised his eyebrows as he looked down at Dan curiously.

“We’re just curious and you never want to talk about him when we ask about him. Look, just call me and let me know if you want to come over if things get too bad. I know how your parents can get, and it’s not very pretty.” Chris said.

“Thanks Chris. I really appreciate. Look, I gotta go. I’ll talk to ya later.” Dan told him. Dan finally hung up on him. He groaned and then he closed his eyes. He hid his face in Phil’s chest. “I don’t want to do anything but cuddle with you.”

“That’s perfectly fine with me,” Phil said. He leaned down and kissed Dan’s forehead and continued to hold onto him. He didn’t want to let him go. He was afraid that if he did let him go, then he wouldn’t get him back. “Everything will be fine. I promise.”

It’s been a week and Dan hasn’t seen or heard from Phil. He was scared he was losing him and the worst part was that his parents hadn’t said anything to him about it so he didn’t know what they were going to do. Dan was tired of waiting and he just needed to know the answers so he could move on with his life.

It was now a Saturday evening. Dan was planning on sneaking out of the house because he couldn’t take not seeing Phil anymore. It was driving him absolutely crazy. He needed to see him again and just hear his voice.

Dan sighed as he walked down the stairs. He grabbed his coat and was about to open the door but he stopped as soon as he heard his mom yell for him, which was never a good thing when his parents yelled. He groaned and he immediately went to the living room, where his parents were sitting on the couch.

“Are you going somewhere?” John asked when he saw Dan holding his jacket.

Dan looked down at his jacket for a quick second before he looked up at his dad again. “I was going to go for a walk, maybe go over to Chris and PJ’s for a little bit since I haven’t seen them all week,” He lied. “They’ve been wanting to hang out with me anyways.

"You really have gotten terrible at you’re lying, Dan.” Diane said.

“You and I both know that’s not what you were doing. You were going off to see Phil, weren’t you?” John asked, staring at Dan, not taking his eyes away from him. Dan remained silent. “Sit down Daniel; we have a few words to say to you…” They watched as Dan nervously walked over to the chair and sat down, not saying anything still. “Now, we thought long and hard about what we were going to do about you and this older boy situation. You’re only 15 years old, Dan…”

“Mum, you said so yourself! Phil has changed me for the better!” Dan yelled hopefully.

John looked over at Diane and raised his eyebrows. “You said that?” He asked.

“I mean, if you think about it… Dan hasn’t been getting into trouble the past months, or ever since he met that boy.” She said.

“I suppose that’s true but you’re still very young Dan. You’re just barely getting into your teenage years. Phil is 19 years old, he is an adult now. You shouldn’t be with him. I just don’t think it’s the right thing for you.” John said as he looked over at Dan again.

“Dad, please. It’s not that big of a difference!” Dan cried. He took a deep breath as his eyes began to water up, “Phil is still a teenager, just like me. Please don’t take him away from me just because of an age gap. I love him.” Dan whispered.

“Daniel, you’ve only known the boy for a couple of months. How can you be in love with him?” John asked.

“You always told us how you fell in love with mum as soon as you met her.” Dan said.

“That was completely different and you know it.” Diane said.

“The only difference is that you were a bit older than Phil and I are.” He bit his lip nervously as he stared at his parents.

“He does have a point, John. Phil is still a teenager as Dan said; he’s only four years old. I think we should be grateful that he’s not dating someone 14 years older than him. Then we would have a real problem.” Diane said.

“Ew, no! I would never date a man 14 years older than me. That’s disgusting! I’m not that desperate.” Dan said.

“I just don’t think Dan should be dating at such a young age. He needs to focus on his school work.” John said.

“Phil has been helping me,” Dan told them. “He’s been helping me whenever I need help and he even got the kids at school to stop beating me up so now I can actually walk through the halls again without fearing for my life. Phil helps me for than you think, he really does care about me.”

“You never said anything about kids beating you up at school.” Diane said.

“Um, well… it was Adrian’s fault! He’s the one who told everybody at school that I had a babysitter so people started teasing me and then this kid Adam started making up stories about it and made everything worse. I only got beat up a few times. I thought I could handle it and I-I didn’t really think that you would care, if I’m being honest.” Dan mumbled. He shrugged his shoulders slightly.

“We’ll talk to your brother later,” John said. He sighed. “And we do care Dan.”

“I know. But, Phil really has helped me. He’s helped me a lot. I promise you that Phil is no trouble for me. He really does care about me and I know that he loves me and would do anything for me to keep me happy. In fact, he didn’t even want to be with me in the first place because of the age difference but luckily he finally got it through his head that it wasn’t that big of a deal.” Dan sighed.

“You really want to be with him?” Diane asked calmly.

Dan nodded. “He really means the world to me. I know you’re thinking that I’m probably too young to know about love but I’m really not. I mean, maybe I did rush into a relationship when I shouldn’t have but I learned from it. I really have.” He said, looking back and forth at his parents with hope in his eyes.

“I’m actually impressed with you Daniel. Maybe you are mature enough to be in this relationship of yours,” John said. He let out a sigh, “Okay, you can see the boy. But if this relationship starts to get in the way of your school in any way, then you can kiss it goodbye. You’ve already done horribly on your first freshmen year of high school and that’s not acceptable. You better have your grades up by the end of the year or you really will be in big trouble.” He warned.

“I promise. I’ll get my grades. I’ll do anything! I just want to be able to see Phil.” Dan said, quickly standing up.

“Fine. You can go see Phil.” Diane said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh my God. Thank you so much!” Dan yelled excitedly. He ran out of the living room.

“Don’t be out too late, Daniel!” Diane shouted after him.

Dan immediately ran to Phil’s house without stopping. He was too excited to tell Phil that they could be together.

“Come on, come on, come on.” Dan whispered as he knocked on Phil’s door.

Dan waited a few seconds before the door finally opened, revealing a very tired looking Phil.

Phil raised his eyebrows, a little surprised to see Dan. “Dan, what are you…”

“My parents said we could be together!” Dan yelled. He flung his arms around Phil’s neck and hugged him.

Phil immediately hugged him back. “Oh my God. Did they really say that we could be together?” He asked, shutting the door.

Dan nodded but didn’t say anything. He closed his eyes as a couple of happy tears fell out of his eyes. “I missed you so fucking much,” he whispered. He finally pulled away from their hug and looked up at Phil with a smile on his face. “It’s been too long.”

Phil smiled as he looked down at him. “You’re mine,” He whispered. He took a deep breath. “And I’m not letting you go.”

Phil smiled as he wrapped his arms around Dan, pulling him closer and then gently lifting him off of the ground.

Dan giggled and wrapped his legs around Phil and then leaning in to kiss him. Phil immediately kissed him back. They continued to kiss as Phil made his way towards his bedroom. Phil kicked the door shut once they were in his bedroom, still carrying Dan. Phil walked over to his bed and gently lay Dan down on his back. Dan kept a hold of Phil and pulled him down on top of him. “I really have missed you a lot.” Phil whispered as he stared at Dan.

Phil softly kissed Dan’s neck, leaving little bites here and there, causing breathy giggles to leave Dan’s lips. Pulling Phil’s lips to his own they shared a slow passionate kiss, Phil dragged his hand down the younger boy’s sides, getting lower until he was cupping Dan’s groin and palming him through his jeans. A whimper left Dan’s mouth as he ground into Phil’s hand, licking at his bottom lip trying to deepen the kiss. Phil accepted the advance pushing Dan back onto the bed so he hovered over him their lips, remaining connected all the while. After a few moments, Dan slowly started to pull Phil’s shirt off his body, finally breaking the kiss they had shared, his own garment joining it on the floor seconds later.

“Before we go any further you have to promise me something,” Phil said, his eyes studying the brunette intently as he continued, he took a deep breath, “at any point you want to stop, tell me immediately. This all about what you want and I have to be sure you’re comfortable about what’s happening, promise?”

Dan nodded his head. “I’ve not been sure of anything in my life, I want this, I want you Phil.”

With that confirmation from Dan… their lips re-joined with each other, and then clothes removed until they were only left in their boxer’s hips grinding together in an erratic fashion, soft breathy moans escaping their mouths.

“Phil please don’t stop there, I need more,” Dan mumbled yanking on the elders boxers to, which Phil immediately responded by kicking them off as Dan followed. Phil’s eyes trailed down his boyfriend’s body with an intense gaze drinking the sight. A self-conscious thought crossed Dan’s mind as Phil looked at him, causing the brunette to wrap his arms around himself as he couldn’t help but feel a little insecure about his body, he’d been like this ever since he was a little boy. He’d never shown anyone but his mother this much of his body.

“Love, don’t ever hide yourself from me, you’re beautiful.” Phil whispered to Dan.

The black haired male lent down to kiss him again, then pulled back to retrieve something from his drawer. Quickly popping the cap off of the lube, Phil drizzled some on his fingers rubbing them together to heat it up, finally he started to slowly circle Dan’s hole… pushing in a single digit. Dan clenched at the foreign feeling, closing his eyes as it stung slightly. He had never felt anything like it before. Phil used his free hand to rub Dan’s member in an attempt to calm him before proceeding to add a second finger scissoring slightly. Eventually Dan relaxed enough for him to add a third finger which Phil stroked against his prostrate causing the younger male to moan out in shock at the pleasure it caused.

“Wh-what was that, it felt amazing.” Dan whimpered.

“It was your prostrate, it’s kind of the men’s equivalent of a g-spot,” Phil grinned, removing his fingers. He added a little more lube to his hand spreading it over himself before locking eyes with Dan. “Are you ready?” Phil asked calmly, not taking his eyes away from Dan.

“Yes, I’m ready. I’ve never been more ready.” Dan responded, taking a deep breath.

Phil didn’t need to be told twice as he pushed in all the way thrusting in and out extremely slowly but stopped as he saw pain flash across Dan’s face. “Are you okay, love?” He asked, just to make sure. Hurting Dan was the last thing that he wanted.

“Yes, just keep going, I’ll be okay in a minute.” Dan assured Phil.

Starting his thrust again Phil lowered his lips to Dan to distract him; soon the brunette was moaning beneath him legs crossing around Phil’s hips urging him to pick up his pace. Shifting slightly Phil leaned on both elbow forearms flat on the bed so his hands could link with Dan’s continuing to kiss him fervently.

“Phil I-I’m close,” Dan informed him, closing his eyes for a second.

Angling his trust to hit Dan’s prostrate head on; he took one pair of their joint hand and wrapped Dan’s hand around his member placing his own over the top controlling the strokes. Seconds later their chests were covered in white as Dan released calling out Phil’s name which spurred the black haired male to his release.

“Phil,” Dan breathed out, he looked up at Phil again. “That was fucking amazing.” He whispered.

Phil couldn’t help but chuckle. “I love you.” He whispered before leaning in to kiss Dan again.


	11. 4 Years Later

Dan sighed in frustration as he stood in front of the mirror, trying to fix his hair the way that he wanted it to be.

It was just an hour before his graduation and he was freaking out, even though he had no reason to be. Everything was going to be fine, right?

Dan was 19 years old now and he was actually graduating high school. He couldn’t believe that he made it through four years of school and now today was the day that he was leaving school for good. He wouldn’t have to listen to any more boring teachers; he wouldn’t have to put up with any kids bullying him still because he was gay, no more tests or quizzes. He just couldn’t wait to be done with school. Dan was excited to live his life how he wanted to live it now.

The only thing that was disappointing Dan today was that his boyfriend, Phil, wasn’t going to be at his graduation today as he was busy working on a new Youtube video that he had to get done as it was already a couple weeks late. Phil told Dan that he would be there but Dan told him to work on his video and they would celebrate later and Dan agreed. Dan knew how important his Youtube career was so he didn’t mind completely.

“Look at my baby boy, all grown up.” Dan rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless when he heard his mother’s voice.

“Mum, please.” He groaned as he looked over at her.

“Are you almost ready to go?” Diane asked, smiling as she looked at Dan.

“Almost. Just trying to fix this bloody hair.” He mumbled.

“Your hair looks fine,” She said. She shook her head. “Anyways… someone’s here to see you.”

“Who on Earth would be here to see me?” Dan asked.

Diane stepped aside and in walked Phil. “Hey.” Phil greeted.

Dan gasped excitedly and immediately ran over to him and hugged him. “Oh my God, you’re here!” He yelled excitedly.

Diane smiled as she watched them and then she walked out of Dan’s bedroom.

“I wouldn’t miss this day for the world.” Phil whispered as he wrapped his arms around Dan and hugged him tightly.

“I’m so glad you came.” Dan mumbled. He pulled away and looked up at Phil, smiling.

“So, are you ready for graduation?” Phil asked as he looked down at Dan.

“Ugh. I’m so fucking nervous,” Dan let go of Phil. He walked back over to the mirror and went back to fixing his hair.

Phil raised his eyebrows as he watched Dan. “Your hair looks perfect. Don’t worry about it, love.” He said.

“What if I do something stupid during graduation? I don’t want to be that kid that trips and falls on the stage and ruins everything, you know someone’s going to do it and it’s probably going to be me.” Dan mumbled. He turned and looked over at Phil.

“To be honest, we all know you’re probably going to be that one kid.” Phil said jokingly.

“Phil!” Dan whined. He hit him playfully on the chest.

Phil laughed and kissed Dan a few times. “Do you have everything you need for graduation? You promised Chris and PJ that you would meet up with them before graduation started so we should probably leave soon if you want to do that.” He said.

“Oh right, I did say that… didn’t I?” Dan asked. He sighed and nodded. “Yeah… I have everything.”

“Do you want to leave now then?” Phil asked calmly.

“Yeah, we can go now.” Dan said, nodding. He reached up and kissed Phil again.

Phil smiled and kissed him back. “You’ll do absolutely fine.” He whispered.

Dan finally got his stuff ready for graduation and then he and Phil left the house. Dan’s parents and brother were going to go later when the graduation would actually start. Dan was going early as he promised Chris and PJ they would hang out as Chris and PJ were going off to college in a couple of days while Dan was staying home so he could be with Phil. They were planning on getting their own apartment so they could both work on their Youtube careers. Dan had started his own Youtube channel called ‘danisnotonfire’ and it already had 500,000 subscribers. Dan wanted to focus on his Youtube career.

“Here we are,” Phil said as they pulled into the school.

“Oh my God. I’m getting so nervous!” Dan said as he took off his seat belt.

“Do you want me to come with you or wait?” Phil asked as he looked over at Dan.

“Um, let me have a few minutes alone with them and then I’ll text you when I’m done. Okay?” Dan said.

“Sounds good to me. Have fun, and try not to worry too much.” Phil said as he looked over at Dan.

Dan reached over and quickly kissed Phil once on the lips before he finally got out of the car. He immediately started to look around for Chris and PJ. It was weird seeing all the other students in their graduation uniforms but it was also kind of exciting to see. Dan was also sad that Chris and PJ were leaving but he knew that they wanted to do college and he definitely supported that. He would try to see them as much as possible but knew that it would be hard.

“Dan!” Dan immediately looked over and smiled when he saw Chris and PJ sitting together at a table, PJ waving at him.

“Finally.” Dan said before he walked over to them.

Both Chris and PJ stood up from the table they were sitting at.

“Fuck, I’m gonna miss you!” Dan whined as flung his arms around PJ and hugged him.

PJ laughed and hugged him back. “We won’t be leaving for a few more days. Don’t worry!” PJ assured him.

“You’re still leaving!” Dan pouted. He then hugged Chris.

“We’ll visit as much as we can.” Chris added as he hugged Dan.

“Where’s Phil? I thought you said he was coming?” PJ asked.

Dan pulled away from Chris and then he looked over at PJ. “He’s waiting in the car. I just wanted to catch up with you guys first before we went in and everything. I just hope everything is going to go smoothly.” He sighed and shook his head.

“Come on, we all know one of us is going to fall in front of everybody.” Chris said.

PJ laughed. “Most likely Dan.” He said, smirking slightly as he looked over at him.

“That’s what Phil said!” Dan pouted and crossed his arms against his chest. “You’re all mean,” He mumbled.

“We really love you Dan, you know that!” PJ exclaimed, smiling.

Dan rolled his eyes as he looked over at PJ. “Yeah, I know it.” He said.

“So, we need to talk about celebrating later…” Chris said, quickly changing the subject.

“Typical Chris,” Dan and PJ said at the same time.

Dan hung out with Chris and PJ and just chatted for about 10 minutes before they finally had to go inside.

Phil was already sitting in the audience and was watching as the other students getting their diplomas. He was nervous but definitely more excited to see Dan walk onto the stage and get his diploma. Phil knew that Dan worked so hard for it and deserved it more than anyone else. He was proud of Dan for making it through high school, when it wasn’t easy. Dan had gone through a lot in high school so he knew that Dan couldn’t wait to get out of here.

“Daniel Howell,” Phil immediately looked up when he heard Dan’s name and smiled proudly as he watched his boyfriend walk across the stage and over to the principal. He watched as Dan shook the principal’s hand then took his diploma.

Dan glanced over and smiled as soon as he saw Phil sitting in the audience, sitting next to his family. Dan took a deep breath and then he walked off the stage again, smiling and feeling proud of himself. “I didn’t even fall,” Dan whispered to himself as he walked off. He stood by the stage.

Dan waited and watched for Chris and PJ to come off. He smiled when he heard Chris’s name being called. He watched as Chris walked onto the stage and laughed when he saw Chris trip over his own feet. “Way to go Chris!” Dan called, still laughing.

Chris quickly walked off the stage once he had his diploma in his hands. “Fuck, why is it always me?” Chris asked as he walked over to Dan. “It’s always me. I can’t believe I tripped on the fucking stage!” He whined.

Dan shook his head. “I guess you’ll always be Clumsy Chris.” he said.

Chris threw a playful glare at Dan but smiled nonetheless. “I hate you.”

“I can’t believe you tripped!” Dan and Chris looked over at saw PJ walking over to them, also with his diploma.

“Fuck off!” Chris whined. He crossed his arms against his chest.

PJ laughed and wrapped his arms around Chris and kissed him once. “You still did good.” PJ said.

Dan didn’t care about any of the other students so he immediately left and met Phil outside the school building.

“I’m so fucking proud of you,” Phil whispered as he wrapped his arms around Dan and pulled him into a hug.

“I’m officially done with school!” Dan yelled happily.

Phil smiled and kissed Dan’s cheek. They pulled away from the hug. “How do you feel?” He asked.

“I feel like I’m on top of the world right now.” Dan told him.

“Let me see, let me see!” Phil said excitedly when he saw the diploma in Dan’s hand.

Dan smiled and handed Phil his diploma. He watched as Phil opened the diploma. “Daniel James Howell.”

“It says it right there.” Phil said. He looked up at Dan again and smiled.

“I have you to thank.” Dan whispered. He took a deep breath.

“What do you mean? You’re the one who graduated. Not me.” Phil said.

Dan quickly shook his head. “I know. I did all the school work but you helped me get through it. I was ready to quit and just end everything at the start of freshmen year. I was in a bad place and I’m so fucking glad my parents got me a stupid babysitter four years ago. I would have never met you. I wouldn’t be who I am today. I have so much to thank you for, Phil. I really honestly mean that.” Dan said.

“You should be proud of who you are.” Phil whispered.

Dan nodded. He looked up at Phil and smiled. “I am. I really am proud of who I am.”

“Wanna get out of here?” Phil asked, smiling as he handed Dan back his diploma.

“I’ve been ready to get out of here for four years.” Dan said, laughing.

Phil also laughed, and then he wrapped his arms around Dan and they were off.

Dan was ready. He was ready to start his new life as a Youtuber with Phil. Things were only going to get better from here.


End file.
